


A Simple Guide on Parenting: How to Raise the Antichrist.

by darlingjongin



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Demon!Jongdae, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Name-Calling, Romance, Satire, Slight Violence, Swearing, Torture, angel!minseok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 22:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21187238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingjongin/pseuds/darlingjongin
Summary: The Armageddon has commenced and it’s up to a demon and an angel to make it happen. Too bad they have other plans.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** A Simple Guide on Parenting: How to raise the Antichrist.  
**Prompt:** T155  
**Pairing:** Xiumin/Chen  
**Prompt:** Good Omens Alternate Universe  
**Ratings:** Teen and Up  
**Summary:** The Armageddon has commenced and it’s up to a demon and an angel to make it happen. Too bad they have other plans.  
**Tags:** comedy, satire, romance, angel!minseok, demon!chen, violence, torture, swearing, name-calling, best friends to lovers  
**Warning:** poking fun at religion, don’t take the jokes too seriously, they’re supposed to mimic the series.

_Prologue:_

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light.

There were also other things God created that she doesn’t speak about. A few of them are hidden in the swamps of Australia, but most of them are hidden away beneath the depths of the sea, far from anyone’s prying eyes. God was feeling abstractly creative that day. No one ever talks about it.

Minseok, one of the first assigned angels sent to care and protect God’s newest creation, on the other hand, had seen what God had been up to. In a sense, he thought the almighty was probably laughing at some of the things she’d created. But he doesn’t talk to the almighty herself, so he has no idea of ever telling if she was serious with some of these.

‘What is good heavens are you?’, Minseok kneels on the ground, observing such a fascinating creature. The creature’s nose or snout or whatever it is is long and pointy, it walks on four legs, covered in fur. He watches as the creature sticks his tongue out into the termite mound. He noticed that the almighty didn’t even bother to give it teeth, just a long tongue that other little creatures stick into before it devours them, ‘That’s gross’, he hears himself whisper as he stands up, his white wings folded behind him.

He observes God’s most favourite creation, something she calls a ‘man’, walking around the forest. God was especially proud with how this one turned out, his skin dark and soft, no thick fur in sight, except for at the top of his head and in between his legs. The almighty also gave him a tongue with the ability to create speech to which they can easily communicate with. Minseok can hear him talking all day to himself, on and on and on and on until the angel himself got sick and tired of the man and spent the night in the heavens even though he was ordered to watch over Project Eden.

He notices the man looking at the same creature as he was looking at moments ago, admiring it with the same curiosity as the almighty herself. Minseok found it eerily disturbing how the man was created exactly in God’s image, too close of a replica, Minseok thought. He too was full of curiosity and compassion without the knowledge of even having them.

‘You should be called anteater’, the man says, stroking the top of the creature’s head whilst watching it eat the ants.

_‘Anteater, how original’_

The angel looks up and lord behold, a demon resting idly on a tree branch, interrupts the peace. The demon had black hair which falls on his shoulders, his eyes bright yellow like a serpent, looking towards the man and Minseok. A fruit rests on his hand, somewhat red, his sharp teeth taking a bite out of the sweet creation, juices flowing out and welcoming to his tongue. Minseok can tell he was a demon because he was wearing a black toga, the complete opposite to his pure white ones.

‘What are you doing here?’, Minseok rolls his eyes, fluttering his wings as a sign of dominance, but the demon just laughs, turning to his side and fluttering his black wings, just as big as Minseok’s and just as powerful. It made the angel take a step back, ‘You have no place here’, Minseok continues to cast out the demon.

‘Unfortunately, I have no place anywhere’, the demon sighs, throwing the half-eaten fruit to the ground, ‘But then again, that allows me to infest wherever I want’, Minseok looks down at the fruit, which was already black, infested in maggots and he grimaces at the sight of it, kicking it away before the man can find it.

‘Has it got a name?’, the demon stands up, his hand resting on the tree bark as he tiptoes on the branch. He points to the man who was sitting around a group of what he called _deer,_ nestling at their sides and watching the clouds above him.

‘I don’t think the almighty has named him yet’, Minseok replies, sensing the curiosity seeping through the demon as his eyes begin to glow, ‘But I’m sure she’ll give him a wonderful name’

‘I’m sure she will’, the demon smirks, taking a closer look at God’s new favourite thing, ‘She’s done an incredible job with him’, he comments, his voice low and somewhat playful – which is never a good sign coming from a demon. Minseok takes it upon himself to take a step forward, blocking the demon from the man’s view, fluttering his wings open.

The demon took his time to admire his wings at first, seeing the pure white feathers gleaming when the sun touches it. The angel’s wings are tall and prideful, almost double the height of the angel himself. The demon mimics him and flutters his pure black wings open, his feathers so dark that the eyes trick itself into thinking it was staring at a void.

‘Why the hostility? I’m just like you, aren’t I?’, the demons say with a smile on his face as he shows off his wings.

‘_Were’, _Minseok corrects him, folding his wings back behind him and crossing his arms, ‘You’re a demon now’

‘I don’t like labels’, the demon yawns, jumping out of the tree branch and landing on his feet on the soft grass. He stretches his arms and breathes in a fresh of breathing air, ‘The almighty really did a good job with this place’, he smirks, letting the grass tickle his feet as he walks towards the field where the man was sleeping, Minseok following beside him, ‘It was getting too cramped down there’

‘In hell?’, Minseok asks the mere thought of hell piques his interests since it was a dimension that the almighty made that he cannot visit – not that he wanted to visit – but he felt all the more intrigued at such a mysterious place.

‘Yeah, too many demons, not enough food’, the demon sighs, ‘Thank hells I’m the devil’s favourite, so I get to come up here and away from the horrendous smell’

‘Wait… The devil’s favourite’, Minseok walks up in front of the demon, once again shielding the man, ‘Why would he send you up here?’

The question was answered with utter silence, the demon smirking at him as the skies begin to darken and another day closes at an end. The angel reaches his hand and grips on the demon’s wrist, forcing him to stay and answer his question, but the demon’s playful eyes are enough of an answer for him to realise that he should be keeping a very close eye on him.

‘Maybe I’ll see you soon’

* * *

Soon came at approximately 12.34 pm when the man, who the almighty has now named Adam, receives his first companion on the Earth.

‘What’s her name?’, Minseok hears the demon’s voice from behind him, which sends shivers down his spine, his hand resting on his flaming sword which God had given him just in case anything happens – he didn’t know what the ‘just in case’ was, but he didn’t question the almighty – turning back to see the devil’s favourite demon back in Eden.

‘What in heavens are you doing here?’, Minseok asks him, bewildered that the demon’s back since he told headquarters about a lurking demon who may or may not have been sent by, he who shall not be named, to destroy God’s creation. He’s been told by Gabriel himself that they have made sure Eden was safe from gnawing hands and gashing teeth.

‘I’m allowed to visit’, the demon declares, ‘Otherwise the almighty would’ve spat me the moment I entered’, now _that_, the angel cannot dispute, so with slight hesitation, he allows the demon to stand next to him, two of the opposites standing side by side to watch the beginning of all beginnings unfold.

‘So, what’s her name?’, the demon asks again and Minseok stares back at the woman with long dark hair and olive skin.

‘Eve’, Minseok answers, ‘Apparently she was made by using one of Adam’s ribs? I’m not quite sure…’

‘She named the first one Adam?’, the demon grimace at the name, ‘Not very imaginative’

_‘Not very imaginative?_ May I remind you that the Almighty created everything here, including you and me’, Minseok defended God, feeling slightly offended by the demon’s words, ‘And she created this flaming sword which I’m allowed to use on anybody’

‘Wow, I’m so scared’, the demon mimicked a helpless expression, only to chuckle at the end, shaking his head at the angel’s serious demeanour, ‘What’s your name anyway? I wanna know what the almighty called you’

‘Minseok’, the angel answers, ‘It means a Great Jade Stone’

‘The almighty named you after a rock?’, the demon chuckles and Minseok glares at him, raising his flaming sword to threaten him to which the latter raises his hand in surrender, but there’s still a smile plastered on his face.

‘And what about you?’, Minseok finally asks the mysterious demon, ‘What’s your name?’

‘Jongdae’, the demon reaches his hand out, ‘Meaning a Great Bell’, the demon waits for the angel to reciprocate his handshake, Minseok slowly reaching out to hold his hand, giving it an awkward shake.

‘More like a great bell-end’, Minseok whispers, letting go of the hand, spreading his wings, making sure to _accidentally _hit Jongdae’s face in the process, stifling a laugh when he hears Jongdae groan, massaging his cheeks. He flies up in the air, his great flaming sword by his side, ‘Don’t come near Adam and Eve’, he warns him before leaving, flying up into the air, creating whirlwinds around him, disappearing in the blue skies to which Jongdae leans on the tree, staring up with a smile still on his face.

‘Oh, I wouldn’t dare’, he whispers to himself, his eyes turning yellow.


	2. Many Million Years Later.

_Chapter 1; many million years later._

_6th June 2006_

A few millenniums have passed – actually, a handful of millenniums has passed – since the beginning of the world and least to say, a few things have changed.

First and foremost, the Earth has gotten warmer, something Minseok had noticed one summer morning where the air was humid in London of all places. Other things have also changed. There are a lot more humans roaming around the Earth, all of the different shapes, colours and sizes, which Minseok likes. He likes looking out of the window of the café every morning, having his usual caramel latte, watching people pass him by. He found it rather beautiful to see every different person, from the clothes they were wearing, to their scars and little nuances such as the way they walked. They’ve become such an interesting species to observe, albeit not the friendliest at times, but he’s gotten the hang of it.

‘Here you go Minseok’, the barista hands him his usual coffee, sparking their usual morning conversations of the weather and other things. The angel found it comforting that the beautiful barista had taken refuge under his care, talking to him about her worries, much to do with university and school life to which Minseok would usually send a prayer directly to headquarters to give her some uplifting spirits and to nudge the almighty to let her pass some of her exams.

It’s a peaceful morning, just like many other mornings he’s experienced whilst living on Earth. He unfolds his newspaper, letting the coffee cool down a little, turning the pages and resting the warm ceramic cup on his other hand.

As of right now, he resides in London, Kensington to be more precise, which has become his favourite place to live, due to his small ownership of an antique bookshop he acquired in 1921. Out of boredom, he would often move and live in different cities, Seoul being a close second favourite, simply because the food was to die for, much better than what the British can offer, but he always finds himself back in this old city.

He reads the front news and is reminded that the humans have invented nuclear bombs and guns over the past century and the future is made grey because of it. In all honesty, Minseok has heard worse news in his life living on Earth, but sometimes the news just sucks his spirit dry upon reading them, something that the angel had to get used to once the humans started evolving into complicated beings. He’s often feared the signs to be linked with doomsday, but he’s been so dismissive during the past few centuries, he completely forgot that it was supposed to happen.

Which is probably why the next event comes as a bit of a shock to him.

‘Hey, Minseok’

The angel flinches at the sound of Gabriel’s voice looming next to him. He almost drops his coffee when he sees the angel well suited and sitting next to him with a wide grin on his face, his hair swept back.

‘Oh dear’, Minseok says in the midst of almost spitting out his drink, ‘What a pleasant surprise’, he wipes his lips and fakes a smile – meeting Gabriel was nowhere near a pleasant surprise – yet the angel makes sure to keep his true feelings suppressed, ‘What do I have the pleasure of seeing you here?’, he asks once he gets his composure together, straightening his shirt and folding his newspaper. Minseok tries to think of reasons why Gabriel would come down to Earth since the angel stopped visiting it so often ever since the Industrial Revolution. The latter had quoted: ‘hated the stench’, therefore refusing to come down unless need be.

‘It’s time’, Gabriel announces, the smile still on his face as he stands up and claps his hand together in excitement. Minseok looks up to him, still confused.

‘Time for what?’

‘For Doomsday’, Gabriel almost shrills in excitement, something he doesn’t share with Minseok who sits there with a wide eye, totally forgetting that the future was set and Armageddon was happening. It’s been centuries since he last thought about the end of times.

‘Doomsday?’, Minseok whispers, standing up to grab Gabriel, ‘What do you mean by that?’

‘You know exactly what I mean’, Gabriel nudges his sides, expecting to share the same joyous emotions with the other angel, but all Minseok can give him was a stoic expression. He concludes it as Minseok spending too many times with humans so he didn’t question Minseok’s lack of emotions but instead leads his arm around his shoulders, ‘We’ve heard words from down below, and they’re planning to birth the seed of evil by tonight’

‘Tonight?!’

_That soon already?_

‘Don’t act surprised’, Gabriel pats him on the back, ‘In my opinion, they’re quite late. We expected the Armageddon three hundred years ago’

‘Right’, Minseok nods, faking another smile, clapping his hands together unenthusiastically in attempt to fool Gabriel, which probably wouldn’t have worked any other day, but since the angel’s too distracted in his joy, he let it slide out of his radar.

‘I heard that demon Jongdae is going to be the one to do it’

_Jongdae?_

‘Jongdae?’, Minseok bites the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from expressing too much at the sound of that name, coughing as he sits back down on his seat, his coffee now a lukewarm temperature.

‘Yeah, which reminds me, I need you to check in on him and see what he’s up to. That demon has caused more chaos on Earth than the devil himself’, Gabriel announces, looking down on his phone and reading the recent message sent to him form Headquarters.

‘Ah. Yes, of course’, Minseok nods, accepting Gabriel’s orders, ‘I’ll keep an eye on him’

‘Yeah, make sure you do’, Gabriel says, putting his phone back in his pocket, ‘You know I’m surprised that Jongdae hasn’t spotted you, seeing as you both were sent to Earth since the beginning, you’d think you’d run into each other once or twice’

‘Well, I’ll have you know, I don’t meddle with filthy demons’, Minseok reassures his superior, ‘They make my clothes smell’

‘Sure they do’, Gabriel agrees, grimacing at being reminding of the odour Earth left behind, ‘I’m impressed you even lasted this long living in this filthy place, but don’t you worry Minseok, soon you’ll be able to return to Heaven and spend eternity in a pure and joyous atmosphere!’

‘Yay’, Minseok says monotonously, not a smile on his face as Gabriel leaves him to attend to his Earthly duties, waving goodbye before spreading his wings and flying through the air and disappearing. Minseok gives it a couple of seconds, looking out of the window and checking the skies to make sure his superior is gone before pulling out his phone and quickly typing an angry text message.

_To: the bane of my existence_

_Jongdae, you have a lot of explaining to do! Give me a call when you read this and don’t you dare ignore me!_

* * *

Jongdae, who goes by the name of Kim Jongdae, since it was easier to fill out the paperwork with two names nowadays, has gone about his days, ignoring the calls from hell and enjoying his time on Earth. He’s grown to like it here. His hair curled and long down to his shoulders, still, a shade of the darkest black anyone has set their eyes on. He ditched his traditional uniform and opted for his leather jacket and ripped jeans, his nails painted black and his left arm decorated in a tattoo sleeve, each design wackier than the other, piled up on top of each other, from his wrist to the tip of his shoulder.

He’s hidden his wings too, just for convenience. It’s gotten too heavy and such a burden to carry on his back, so he decided to separate himself from it, keeping the black wings caged inside his apartment, concealed in a glass case and displayed by the side of his room. He didn’t need to hide it since he would make up a bullshit excuse as to what it was – he would mainly say it was a sculpture he bought off an auction to which most people will believe immediately and leave it at that. The demon fitted himself right at home with the filthy humans.

Least to say, he was not at all happy about receiving a phone call from Headquarters this morning.

The demon drives down M25 and out of London, the windows open, sunglasses hiding his yellow eyes and a cigarette resting between his lips as he blasts the speakers of his car, blaring Bohemian Rhapsody to oncoming vehicles passing him. He sports a vintage Aston Martin, painted in dark green and growls like a demon.

His car growls to a stop when he arrives at an old cemetery, the moonlight shining down the grey stones of an old Church. He rolls his eyes and opens his car door, murmuring trails of curses at the obscure place the other demons decided to meet.

‘They couldn’t have decided to meet at Starbucks’, he complains, throwing his cigarette butt on the ground, slamming the door shut, the loud music stopping and engulfing him in an eerie silence. The night’s cold too and he didn’t have a proper jacket, his old leather jacket doing him no justice. He passes through the crooked gravestones, unkempt and covered in vines, the names barely readable.

‘Jongdae, what took you so long?!’, he hears the groans of the demons, two to be precise, lurking in the shadows and waiting for him. Their skin yellow and dried up from spending too much time in hell, their wings bony, most of its feathers burnt off.

‘What’s up guys’, Jongdae waves at them, taking off his sunglasses and showing his illuminating yellow eyes, ‘How’re you all doing?’

‘You look human’, one of the demon snarls, looking disgusted with the sight of Jongdae to which the latter just ignores. He’s not going to take judgement from someone who looked like someone just carved up his skin and left it to dry in the sun.

‘Yeah, yeah, whatever’, Jongdae rolls his eyes, ‘Let’s get to the point’

‘Ah, before we do, why don’t we discuss the filthy humans who’ll be taking care of our master?’, one of the demons says, ‘I think we should give it to the Bush’

‘We already decided to give it to a no-name family’, the other demon hits him on the head, ‘We can’t have those angels figuring out where he is’

‘Ah right. Of course, of course’

Jongdae rolls his eyes again, sighing a deep breath as he folds his sunglasses, reaching his hand out and waving his finger, gesturing for the demons to come closer.

‘Just give it to me so I can be done with it’

‘You should be rejoicing’, Hastur, one of the demons, stares at him suspiciously, ‘We’re finally setting in motions the final stages of our victory’

‘Ah yes, of course, of course. Hail Satan’, Jongdae nods, fisting his hand up in the air in mockery celebration, ‘I’m sure it’ll be a ball to go to war’

‘It won’t be just a ball, it will be a feast’, Hastur beams, his grimy hands touching Jongdae, leaving some sort of slime afterwards to which Jongdae grimace, looking down on his hands and wiping the grime on his jeans, praying it doesn’t leave a permanent stain.

‘I’m sure it will’

‘Think about it Jongdae, you won’t have to pretend to be a human and live in this filthy place’, Hastur groans, ‘We get to torture humans for all eternity down in hell’

‘Yay’, Jongdae replies monotonously, faking a smile as he finally sees a woven basket being offered to him. It was normal looking, given the circumstances of the matter, something that can pass as just an everyday basket you see in a market or one used for picnics down by the lake on a sunny day. It didn’t at all look like something that’s carrying the seed of evil.

‘We trust you’ll transport him to the right place?’, Hastur whispers to him as he holds onto the basket a little longer, gripping his slimy hands on Jongdae’s arm, his horrendous breath making Jongdae feel sick.

‘I know Earth better than anyone’, Jongdae whispers back, trying to hold his breath, ‘I’ll get it over and done with’

‘Good’, Hastur smiles, taking a step back, ‘Hail Satan’

‘Yeah, yeah, whatever’

Jongdae departs from the two disgusting demons, waving a half-ass goodbye whilst carrying the basket, not hearing any noise coming from it but fearing it nonetheless, not because it carried the seed of evil, but because it carried something that was going to stop his millennium fun.

He opens the back door to his car and shoves the basket in, slamming the door shut and putting his sunglasses back on, entering the driver’s seat and banging his head on the steering wheel.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!’

He couldn’t believe it was today. Of all days, it had to be today. Why couldn’t it be in another century? Jongdae couldn’t think of anything worse than the start of Armageddon.

Jongdae takes this moment to call the only number in his phone, putting it on speaker and waiting for it to be answered, impatiently starting the car and speeding away from the graveyard.

‘Hello?’

‘Minseok’, Jongdae replies, making a swift turn, ‘You free?’

‘You mind telling me that Armageddon was happening tonight?’, Minseok didn’t even reply to his question, bombarding him with numerous questions and complaints which had piled up throughout the day right after he learnt of the demon’s schedules, ‘How could you not tell me?’

‘Look, I was just as shocked as you were’, Jongdae defends himself, making another swift turn, which causes the basket to swerve from side to side, unsteady since Jongdae didn’t bother to put a seatbelt on it, ‘I’m just as freaked out at the thought that the devil’s son is chilling in my backseat’

‘Wait… You mean, he’s with you right now?’, Minseok asks, curiosity getting the better of him. He’s heard prophecies and tales of the so-called seed of evil and it even had the bravest of angel squirming in fear, so he can only imagine a great beast with Jongdae, ‘What does he look like?’

‘I don’t know, I haven’t looked’, Jongdae responds, ‘It’s in a basket’

‘He’s probably despicable’

‘No, he’s supposed to pass as a human’, Jongdae corrects him, ‘He’s going to be the one leading humanity to hell anyway, so he might as well look the part’

‘I suppose so…’, Minseok says, feeling upset about the whole ordeal, ‘So, what are you going to do with it?’

‘Send it to the family who’s going to care for it’, Jongdae explains, ‘Apparently, they’re a middle-class family with a lawyer father who’s going to become a politician one day’

‘Woah, wait a minute, you’re going to be giving the antichrist to a diplomat?’

‘Yeah, and?’

‘Are you trying to take the piss?’

‘Look, I don’t make the decisions’, Jongdae defends himself, ‘I’m up here and all the decisions are made down there’

‘You could’ve at least thought of something original’, Minseok comments, ‘Even mediocre directors have made films about that. Have you ever seen The Omen?’

‘No, I haven’t’

‘Well don’t. It terrifies me’, he hears the angel whining and he couldn’t help but laugh at the moment, hearing the way Minseok usually goes off on a tangent even during the most important events.

‘Hey angel, as much as I’d love to hear you whine about a horror movie, I’ve got the real antichrist to deliver, so maybe I’ll call you back’

‘Oh. Well… Okay…’, he hears the worry in Minseok’s voice and he knew the angel wasn’t pleased with the thought that the antichrist has finally touch Earth’s soil, ‘Don’t… Make him cry’

‘Are you seriously worried about the antichrist? He’s made to destroy all living things’

‘But he’s still a baby’, Minseok points out and he can hear the angel pouting funnily enough, ‘He still needs to be taken care of’

‘You are one sweet angel’, Jongdae chuckles, hanging up and making another swift turn, driving further away from the small town and towards a small private institute situated atop a hill, surrounded by forest and far from the townspeople’s view.

* * *

Now, this is where things get a little tricky. With two hundred and fifty babies being born each minute, it isn’t a surprise that the probability that a young family expecting their first child would also cross paths with the assigned family of the antichrist.

To make sense of the situation, two couples are driving their way down the private institution alongside the demon Jongdae. One of them is the Korean lawyer, soon to be Diplomat, staying in the small village, Brookman Park, approximately an hour away from London. The expecting mother decided to stay in a much smaller and quieter area whilst her husband does his business in London since she’s never been a big fan of the noise and pollution and thought it would be bad for the baby.

The second family is a resident of the small village and comes from a generation of immigrants who settled quite nicely in England. The husband is a humble business owner of a small shop in the town centre whilst the expecting mother was a primary school teacher. They lived and grew up in England, meeting each other in University and falling in love. They both decided to move to Brookman Park since they couldn’t afford to live in London anymore and they’ve made quite a home in the small village and soon have become a local most townspeople knew and loved. The main problem is that they’re parents are also from Korea.

So, as of right now, two young couple, both Korean descent, rushes to the hospital in a small village in England, mainly populated by Caucasians and a small percentage of British Africans and South Asians with both expecting mothers feeling their water break around the same time.

Pure coincidence.

But this is where humans become humans. Not to say humans are dumb, but fundamentally, they are a species that are out of the loop when it comes to the Divine Plan. They have no idea what it is nor are they prepared for it, so when they cross paths with fate, they twist it around and by chance, the following events happen.

Like a deck of cards or a game of poker, humans play with chance rather than fate or destiny, so when the clock hits 6.00 pm and the sun begins to get low, the first car arrives, a black Mercedes with the father rushing out of the car, leaving the lights on as he rushes to get his wife out, who was screaming in pain, the contractions already beginning. She grips tightly on his shoulder, her nails digging in his skin until they’re both screeching in pain.

‘Excuse me! I need a nurse!’, the father, whose name is Byun Baekbeom, a Korean corporate lawyer in charge of Samsung’s new headquarters in London, shouts for help, the nurses at the reception quickly rushes towards them, holding onto the mother as they rush for a hospital bed to wheel her in. Amongst one of these nurses, is a follower of the satanic cult, not your usual fake ones who focuses on blood, gore and sex, but quite a legit cult, run by demons themselves, which had more elegance and class than wannabe satanic cults with their weird demonic signs, odd rituals and badly drawn versions of Satan, which the devil himself didn’t particularly like since the humans had a thing for drawing him like a goat – which he gets offended by.

Her name is Sarah Jane, quite typical and normal, which is what she looks like right now, with her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing her scrubs and preparing to help deliver the baby. She had been informed by her demon superior that she is expecting a Korean family, something that she cannot miss in this small town, so she makes sure to follow them.

‘Take her to room six’, Sarah hears the doctor call out, and she follows them along.

‘Woah, Woah, what are you doing?’, one of the nurses turns to see Sarah Jane following behind them, stopping her from entering the delivery room.

‘I’m coming to help deliver the baby’, she informs and her superior just laughs at her.

‘We’ve already got three nurses in the delivery room and we don’t want to overcrowd. I suggest you stay by the front’, Sarah Jane cannot let this happen, she has to stay by their side at all times. But her superior gave her no choice, closing the door on her face and blocking her from getting near the family.

‘It’s okay’, she whispers to herself as she walks back, ‘I don’t need to deliver the baby. I just need to swap it’, which was true. Her main task wasn’t to take care of the mother of the future antichrist, Prince of Darkness and bringer of hell, her job was to simply slip past through the dozens of staffs, hide in the shadows and bring forth Satan’s baby and swap it with the other baby. So, she stays close to the door, but not too close, waiting patiently for the demon that was assigned to ascend from the depths and present to her the baby.

So, where is the assigned demon?

* * *

_Oh, Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia, let me go!_

_Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me!_

_For me!_

_For me!_

Jongdae parks his car hastily, turning off the music and putting on his sunglasses, slamming the door shut behind him once he gets out, walking to the back of his car and opening the passenger door, glaring at the basket in front of him, taunting him of the outcome of the actions to come.

‘I hate you’, he whispers as he picks up the heavy basket case, looking down to hear the baby still silent, not a sound insight, but he didn’t need to hear it believe that it’s in there. He locks his car door and walks into the private institution and just as the door closes on him, another car revs into view, taking up the last parking space available at the front of the hospital.

‘Come on darling, we’re here now!’, the soon to be father, who goes by the name of Oh Jaemin, or most commonly by his English name, Benjamin. He hurries to his wife, hugging her close and carrying her weight as they walk up to the hospital steps, ‘It’s going to be okay’, he reassures her as she continues to feel the pain of her contractions, her head resting on his shoulders as she whimpers, ‘Nurses! I need help!’

Three babies are born that night.

Read closely:

The first baby, born to the Byun family, is a healthy baby boy, delivered in room six.

The second baby, born to the Oh family, is also a healthy baby boy, delivered in room seven.

Now, the third baby, born in the depths of hell and from the ashes of blood and sin, is sleeping soundlessly in his basket case, being carried off by the demon Jongdae.

Three babies, one shot.

Jongdae looks around, trying to find the human devil worshipper that the demons told him would take care of the rest, tapping his foot impatiently and looking down at his watch.

7.06 pm.

‘Where the hell is she?’, Jongdae snarls, leaning on the wall and looking at the empty reception desk, whispering trails of curses, not wanting to wait another second to hand the spawn of Satan, ‘They always choose the shit humans to do their biddings’, Jongdae begins to complain, hating his fellow demons who tend to recruit the most useless humans into their cults.

Finally, Sarah Jane comes back to the reception area, holding onto a clipboard of the Byun’s medical files. She looks up to stare at Jongdae, who takes off his sunglasses and shows her his glowing yellow eyes and she almost freaks out, she breath taken away by how beautiful the demon was.

‘Oh wow… It’s you’, she whispers, her expression bright and grinning wide when she slowly approaches the demon who rolls his eyes and passes her the basket.

‘He’s in there’

Sarah Jane looks down and realises what he meant, her hands shaking as she grabs the basket, feeling the weight of the antichrist and a shrill of excitement courses through her veins. She’s the first person to open the casket, the first person to see antichrist himself, the basket revealing a healthy baby boy, his eyes dark brown and cheeks chubby.

‘He’s adorable!’, she coos, reaching her hand in and stroking his soft cheeks, tickling the antichrist and adoring the baby as if its main role wasn’t to bring death and fire into the Earth. Jongdae rolls his eyes at the human’s reaction to babies, ‘Do you think he’ll remember me?’

‘Pray that he doesn’t’

Sarah Jane is scared of Jongdae’s answer and she feels a little frightful at the demon’s glare, his yellow serpent eyes piercing her skin.

‘You do the rest’, he orders, putting his sunglasses back on and leaving the antichrist in the hands of a human – which was his mistake – sauntering off into the shadows and exiting the hospital with nothing more to offer.

Everything else follows like this:

Sarah Jane secretly lays the baby down on the hospital cot, wrapping it around a light blue cotton blanket to keep him warm. She makes her way to stroll the baby in room six where the mother was sleeping after giving birth to her son. The father is also sleeping by her side, holding his wife’s hands and making do with sleeping on the uncomfortable chair, the two parents’ unconscious and unaware of the nurse placing another child next to the sleeping baby with a light blue blanket wrapped around him, identical to the blanket she wrapped around the antichrist. She’s about to make her swap when her superior walks in, looking at Sarah Jane.

‘You’re supposed to be at the reception desk’, her superior tells her off, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Oh… I’m just helping… Uh… Weigh the two babies’, Sarah Jane informs her, pointing at the babies sleeping soundlessly.

‘You need to go back to reception. I’ll deal with the babies’

‘No, I’ll do it. It’s a simple weigh-in and check-up’, she urges, but her superior has a huge vendetta against her, and she orders her to get out of the room, scolding her for leaving the reception desk empty.

‘There must always be someone at the front. What if an emergency happens?’, she shoves Sarah Jane out of the room and closes the door just in case the couple wakes up.

With Sarah Jane gone, fate is flipped up in the air and a small single event can change it.

Her superior, by the name of Sister Beth, is the one to weigh the two babies. The antichrist is the baby sleeping on the left, whilst the real baby of the Byun’s is sleeping on the right. She strolls the baby on the left (the antichrist and bringer of death), beside the weighing scale, filling up the medical files of the new baby. It was a simple procedure that takes no more than ten minutes and she slowly places the sleeping baby black down on its bed before strolling the other baby (the human one), to be weighed next.

Sister Beth finally leaves the room after finishing the medical files, walking out to fetch a nurse to deliver the other baby to room seven since she thought he belonged to the couple in room seven. Sarah Jane peeks from the side, seeing her superior finally leaving room six, taking this as her chance to walk back in and take away the other baby.

This is where things get more complicated, the door opens and another nurse wheels in baby number three, from the Oh family, into the room to be weighed, since they had limited hospital equipment and the only working scale was in room six. At this point, all three of the babies are in the same room, wrapped in the same blankets.

As if that isn’t complicated enough, the nurse ordered by Sister Beth walks in and takes the sleeping baby on the left (the antichrist) and wheels it in room seven under her superior’s orders whilst the other nurse was busy weighing and filling up the medical files of the real baby of the couple residing in the other room. The nurse leaves with the antichrist, opening the door to room seven and disappearing right before Sarah Jane comes back in and tries to finish her swap, seeing one of her colleagues slowly laying the baby on the cot on the left.

‘Oh, hey’, Sarah smiles, approaching the nurse, ‘Superior Beth asked me to finish up weighing here. She told me she needed you to come to the front reception’

‘She did?’, her co-worker asks, ‘I’ll be right up, I just need to finish up here’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll finish up here’, Sarah urges, ‘She says she wants you’

With slight hesitation, the nurse leaves Sarah Jane back to where she started, but this time, the antichrist is taken out of the equation and is sleeping in the arms of a primary school teacher, whilst she was stuck with two human babies without her knowledge.

She looks down on the baby sleeping on the right cot, taking it in her arms and looking beside to watch the Byun couple sleeping, feeling slightly guilty that she’ll be taking their real child away from them. But she has to do what needs to be done, so she takes the baby in her arm, along with his medical files and any other evidence of his existence, opening the door and looking out to see if any of her co-workers’ are roaming around, taking a step out once the corridors are clear, walking further away from the two rooms and towards the back exit.

So, in conclusion:

Baby Byun is supposed to be swapped with the Antichrist.

Baby Oh is added into the equation and is the one that is accidentally swapped with the antichrist instead.

Baby Oh is then left in the care of the Byun family after sleeping on the left side being mistaken as the antichrist by Sarah Jane.

Baby Byun, on the other hand, suffers the fate of being taken out of the equation completely, his soft sleeping face oblivious to his future, his big ears popping out of the blankets wrapped tightly around him as he’s escorted away from his real parents.

But don’t worry. His story isn’t finished yet.

* * *

‘Hello, my little munchkin’, Oh Jieun smiles down at her baby, wrapping him around her arms and nestling him to her, ‘Isn’t he beautiful?’, she turns to her husband, the couple sharing a smile, the room overflowed with joy.

‘What shall we call him?’, Jaemin questions his wife.

Now, names are important. They are what shapes a human and their characteristics. Their name is what makes them who they are. It is important to give the antichrist a name suited for his role in the Divine Plan. He will need a name that succumbs fear and induces pain, characteristics that he needs to have when it’s time for the trumpets to blow and the beginning of the rapture begins.

‘How about Sehun?’, Jieun suggests a blissful smile on her face as the name rolls perfectly off the tongue.

‘Sehun?’, the father murmurs, sharing the same smile as her, ‘Oh Sehun. I like it’

_Se _(世) – _(noun) the world and/or society_

_Hun _(勳) _(noun) meritorious deeds or merits_

_Oh, Sehun_ (吳世勳) – _serving the world meritoriously._

* * *

Whilst the whole antichrist ordeal is happening, one demon stays wasted inside a pub in Central London, leaning his head down on the sticky counter after having one too many lagers.

_9.04 pm._

The antichrist is officially introduced to his human family. The Armageddon has begun and the countdown to the end of the world has started. And Jongdae hates it. He lifts his head, tipsy from the alcohol, laughing to himself like a madman, causing a few stares from other humans residing in the pub.

‘Stop it Jongdae, you look like a crazy person’

Jongdae lifts his head, squinting his eyes and forcing his head to stop spinning to see angel Minseok sitting next to him, in his long coat and three-piece suit.

‘Oh, angel’, Jongdae smiles, sitting up and lifting his empty glass, ‘Nice for you to join me in celebration’, his voice is a little slurred and Minseok can tell the demon’s purposely getting drunk since their bodies can withstand even the strongest of poison. He rolls his eyes and wipes the counter with his handkerchief before resting his arm down.

Minseok had an idea where Jongdae might be hiding since the demon loves to purposely get drunk and lose the feeling of his mind and limbs whenever something doesn’t go his way.

‘You look awful’, he comments, to which Jongdae makes a pouting face, waving his hand and shouting for another drink.

‘I’ve been overworked angel’, Jongdae sighs, his head hung low, ‘I’ve done it to myself. They think I’m the best darn demon for the job’

‘Well, you were the one who claimed credit for both World Wars’, Minseok points out to which Jongdae laughs, leaning his head on the angel’s shoulders, laughing continuously which made the bartender give him a shady look but still handing him his tenth lager.

‘It’s not my fault. The humans started it themselves, but they’re not going to believe that, so I might as well take credit’

‘And because of that, you’re handed the job to keep an eye on the antichrist’, Minseok adds on, ‘Hurray for you, Jongdae, the demon of the Millenia’

‘Don’t tease me angel’, Jongdae whines, lifting his head, his hand grabbing the lager and drinking it in one go, Minseok looking at him in disgusts when he sees trails of beer trickling down the side of his lips and down to his chin. He slams the empty glass back down on the counter, sliding it to the other nine glasses are, ‘I’m not in the best mood for teasing’

‘I’m not teasing you Jongdae. I’m downright pissed at you right now’, Minseok explains, glaring down at the drunk demon, ‘You told me you’d warn me when Armageddon was starting’

‘No, I didn’t’

‘Yes, you did’

‘Really? When?’

‘In Paris, 1793’, Minseok informs and he feels slightly hurt when Jongdae stares blankly at him, not remembering what he told him that day, ‘We were out for some crepes’

‘Ah yes’, Jongdae snaps his fingers upon realisation, ‘I just got you out of jail, right?’

‘Well, I wouldn’t say that…’, Minseok whispers to himself. He had tried to forget the ghastly moment when radicals mistook him for an aristocrat and dragged him to jail where he awaited execution. If it wasn’t for Jongdae tempting the guards and stealing their keys, he would’ve had to use his divine powers to try and get out, and he knew the almighty would be disappointed in him if he used his powers for himself.

‘You could’ve at least waited until the reign of terror ended to get those damn crepes’, Jongdae laughs at him, being the demon who never lets anything go, including a list of all the embarrassing things Minseok had done over the past millennia – and that’s a pretty long list.

‘This isn’t about the crepes’, Minseok brings their topic of conversation back to the crisis at hand, ‘This is about the end of the world’

‘Ah yes’, Jongdae groans, ‘The frightful day’

‘When is it going to happen?’

‘Probably when the kid turns thirteen’, Jongdae announces, ‘That’s when most humans start to have a clear conscience, right?’

‘I’d say eighteen at least’, Minseok disagrees, ‘Most humans nowadays aren’t as smart as they used to be’

‘Whatever. All we know is that we have less than twenty years left on earth before we go back’

‘You know, we will win’, Minseok points out when he sees Jongdae licking the rim of the empty glass, trying to get a taste of more alcohol. The demon can only laugh at the angel, rolling his eyes as he turns to stare back at him.

‘You think that?’, Jongdae asks.

‘I know so’, the angel stands with his initial statement.

‘How would you know?’

‘Because it’s in God’s Plan for us to win’

‘Pfft’, Jongdae couldn’t help but snort, ‘And what _is _God’s Plan? Huh? Elaborate what amazing plans do he have once Armageddon happens?’, the angel keeps silent when Jongdae asks him the question, having no clue how to even begin to answer. The Almighty has given them notice that there’s a plan, but not once did they even ask what it is – they just trusted what God had told them.

‘I… Can’t say’, Minseok responds finally.

‘Why not? Is it because you don’t know?’

‘No’, Minseok turns down the chance for the demon to fill doubt in his head, ‘It’s… The Plan… It’s ineffable’

_‘Ineffable?’, _Jongdae bellows a deep laugh which causes another mountain of stares coming towards their direction, ‘What a load of bull–’

* * *

The Byun family decided to stay in Brookman Park for a couple of weeks after the baby was born, residing in a small cottage, close to the town centre. Mrs Byun sits outside the front yard of the house, looking out into the fields and closing her eyes, smelling the fresh scent of grass and flowers, the sun peeking out of the clouds and shining the day.

Her baby rests in her arms, sucking at her breast as she feeds him. Her eyes are full of love for the small bundle of joy, stroking his head whilst humming softly, a soothing song to calm the baby.

‘The antichrist looks adorable’, Minseok comments, looking down on the baby as he stands behind the mother, watching her gleam and pour her love out onto the baby, which he appreciated. His eyes, however, are focused on the child sleeping soundlessly in her arms and he couldn’t help but notice the devil doing a good job in disguising him as a human.

‘Don’t stare too long’, another voice joins him, a demon laying on his back on the steps of the front porch, eating an apple and looking straight into the sun, his yellow eyes gleaming, ‘He’s got death and destruction hidden inside him’

Minseok stares again at the innocent-looking baby. He felt it wrong to think that this baby is going to be the future Prince of Darkness and bringer of death, not when his hands are the size of a puppy’s pairs and his cheeks are chubby and red. The angel flutters his wings and Jongdae noticed the angel would often do that when he finds pleasure in things.

‘You’re seriously cooing over the antichrist?’, Jongdae hisses, sitting up front the porch and observing the way the angel looms behind the mother with the same goo-goo eyes he gives humans, ‘He’s about to ruin our lives! May I remind you, that little rat is going to be the reason why I have to spend eternity in the fiery pits of hell!’, he screams, and he sees Minseok resting his finger to his lips, ordering him to stay quiet.

‘Well, it’s reasonable for you to be pissed off’, Minseok nods, looking at the angry demon, ‘You’re on the losing end once the Armageddon starts. It’s understandable why you’re freaking out’

‘I’m not the only one who’s on the losing side’, Jongdae scoffs, standing up and walking over to the angel, ‘You’re also losing’

‘I beg your pardon?’, now it’s Minseok’s turn to scoff at Jongdae, ‘I am an angel and soldier of God, it’s practically in the Divine Plan for me to win’

‘I’m not talking about the stupid plan’, Jongdae rolls his eyes, ‘Fuck the plan’

‘What? How dare you-’

‘Think about it’, Jongdae interrupts Minseok, pointing at the sleeping baby, ‘That scum is going to be the reason why the Earth crumbles into nothing and we’re all forced to go back to where we came from… That means you’ll have to leave Earth behind and go back to the heavens’

This seems to trigger the angel who coughs and looks down on the floor, not wanting to admit that a little part of him was saddened at the thought that he’ll be leaving Earth soon.

‘What exactly is there to do in Heaven?’, Jongdae asks, knowing that he’s slowly getting to the angel, walking around the front porch and ignoring the singing mother and the antichrist as he leans on the ledge, staring at the angel, ‘I mean, at least in hell we have Beethoven and Mozart to keep us company. Oh! And we have Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury too! It’ll be a blast down there, even though it stinks of shit and rotting bodies… But how about Heaven? What exactly do they have?’

Minseok thinks about it for a bit, walking over and leaving the mother and her child as he leans beside the demon, leaning on the ledge. The angel isn’t in charge of which humans made it to heaven, but he’s sure they grabbed a few amazing artists. He’s sure he won’t be bored once he comes back.

‘Oh, and there won’t be any more sushi or morning coffee for you too’, Jongdae sighs, ‘Angels aren’t required to eat anything when they go back to the heavens’

‘I’m sure the almighty will let me keep eating’, Minseok points out, although his voice is quivering with doubt, something which an angel shouldn’t have.

‘And that bookshop of yours…’, Jongdae says, looking up with a playful smirk to see the angel getting triggered, his neck tensing and his wings slightly shivering, ‘I doubt the almighty would allow you to bring dusty old books into Heaven’

‘But… But they’re vintage!’, Minseok whines, turning to Jongdae and tugging at his sleeves, ‘I’ve been collecting them all for centuries!’

‘Hey, don’t complain to me’, Jongdae raises his hands, ‘I’m not the one triggering Armageddon’

The angel then turns back to the antichrist, seeing his small eyes fluttering open and he hears the mother cooing, singing to him as he wakens. He sees the baby smile for the first time and he feels conflicted.

‘You’re starting to hate that baby now, aren’t you?’, Jongdae whispers to his ear, chuckling when Minseok turns to glare at him, slapping his face away from him with his wings.

‘You always do that to me’, Minseok whines as he stands up and faces Jongdae, ‘Always trying to tempt me to think the wrong things’

‘It’s a hobby’, Jongdae smiles, rolling up his sleeves and showing off his tattoos, ‘There’s something pleasant in seeing something so innocent be tainted’

‘I’ll slap you in the head if you dare do that to me again’, Minseok warns the demon, ‘I can’t do anything about the Armageddon even if I wanted too… The plan is set’

‘Well’, Jongdae smiles, a small temptation rising in his as he stands up and sticks by Minseok’s side, following the mother as she walks back into the house with the antichrist awake, finding shade inside the small cottage, ‘There may be a loophole in the so-called plans’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The antichrist is now human’, Jongdae points and they watch as the baby is placed into a high chair whilst the beautiful young mother is preparing for her breakfast, ‘He’s vulnerable just like any other human’

‘What are you getting at?’, Minseok raises a brow as he judges the demon.

‘Remember when the almighty sent her son down here?’

_No._

‘No’, Minseok flutters his wings violently, his feathers shaking at the thought implanted in his mind. He points an accusing finger at the demon, his eyes glaring, ‘We’re not doing that again’

‘Oh, come on! The almighty’s son had to experience excruciating death, why shouldn’t Satan’s son experience the same?’

‘What you guys did to him was cruel!’, Minseok shouts, ‘I refuse to do the same!’

‘This is the fucking antichrist, goddammit!’

‘Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain!’, Minseok shouts back. The two beings didn’t realise their anger, Minseok’s wings accidentally pushing a cup off the table, hearing it crash in the living room. The pair of them stops arguing, looking down on the shuttered glass and hearing the mother’s footsteps coming back to the living room.

They both retire and disappear, leaving Mrs Byun to wonder what tipped the glass over the edge of the table, going back into the kitchen to grab a broom before anyone steps on the glass.

Baby Baekhyun looks up out of the window, seeing two figures walking side by side, one dressed in all black whilst the other is dressed in the complete opposite. The windows are open and the baby hears speaking, and he gurgles, trying to imitate the noise, his eyes gleaming up to see a feather fluttering into the window and landing on the table, his little fingers reaching out for it.

* * *

‘Just think about it, angel’, Jongdae attempts to persuade Minseok again, the pair of them now in London, on their way to Minseok’s bookshop. The demon has his hands inside his pockets as he follows Minseok.

‘I’m not killing anyone’, Minseok whines, ‘You know how much I hated doing it in the past’

‘I know but we’re in a dire situation’, Jongdae says, ‘I wouldn’t ask if there was another way’

‘Why’re you so desperate to stop the Armageddon anyway? Are you that scared of it?’, Minseok questions, turning to face the demon once he reaches his antique shop, ‘If you’re that scared, you can always repent’

‘That’s not it, angel’, Jongdae sighs, putting on his sunglasses when he sees humans passing them by, hiding his yellow eyes, ‘I like staying here, and don’t tell me you don’t either’, he says and Minseok didn’t know what to say. As an angel, he cannot lie, so he stays quiet which is enough of an answer for Jongdae who, by now, has learnt his mannerisms too well for him to hide it away.

‘I can’t interrupt the divine plan’, Minseok whispers, giving up, his expression low, ‘I just can’t do things as you do…’

‘You can, angel’, Jongdae points out, ‘We’ve been doing it for centuries’, he reminds Minseok and the angel chuckles, the pair sharing a secret that no one else knows, ‘You know where to find me. Call me when you change your mind’, Jongdae’s the one who starts to walk backwards, his hands resting in his jean pocket as he starts to walk away from Minseok, the angel staying still his eyes never leaving the demon, watching Jongdae’s back. He watches until the demon turns and it out of his sight before he unlocks his shop, walking inside and flipping the open sign, hanging by the window.

Minseok walks to the storage room, away from any of his customers. The room isn’t a storage room, but his secret escape. It looked like a Victorian study room, accompanied by even more bookshelves but with his choices of favourite books, a leather armchair by the fireplace, decorated in one of a kind pieces he’s collected over his stay on Earth, a Persian rug, never seen before Leonardo Da Vinci paintings and even one of Van Gogh’s sketchbooks resting on his coffee table. He rests on the chair, clicking his fingers and starting a fire by the fireplace – he remembered Jongdae showing him that trick during the Dark Ages.

They’ve been roaming the Earth since it was first created, it seems rather stupid that the Headquarters wouldn’t so much as think that they might have crossed paths once or twice – but then again – they stopped being thorough in their daily check-ins with him. They didn’t investigate Minseok’s growing friendship with the demon.

Minseok reaches for his book, which rested on the small coffee table, bookmarked and left unfinished. He’s been too stressed to continue reading, taking no pleasure in the words when the back of his head continues to remind him of the impending future in which his haven, his home and everything he’s grown to love will disappear in ashes and dust. He remembers the almighty praising her work of art that was Earth, falling in love with every human and creatures that entered the world – but now everything is dark – unloved and forgotten. If only God herself came down and saw the joy that this world still has and the humanity it still has to offer. He wonders if she sees it, would she change her mind and continue to let the humans live in peace, to keep the barriers of hell and heaven secure. He can only imagine how persuasive he has to be for her to listen to him rather than to continue with the plans she’s already made centuries ago.

* * *

‘Angel, what are you doing here?’, Jongdae, despite his wishes to get pissed drunk this evening, has already found an angel stumbling out of the pub, alcohol dribbling down his lips, his eyes hazed and drooping. Jongdae has to abandon his visit to the local pub, running to Minseok before the angel drops to the ground and injures himself, ‘Hey, angel, you okay?’

Jongdae braces his arms around the angel, letting Minseok fall and land on his chest, arms hugging him tightly whilst his mouth murmurs muffled words that the demon can’t quite understand, ‘Angel? Minseok? Answer me’, he says again, shaking him awake whilst he adjusts the angel, letting his arm lean on his shoulder as he holds him up, guiding him to walk away, one foot after the other.

‘I don’t want to go back’, Minseok mumbles, his words mesh up, but Jongdae can understand him – the demon got used to Minseok by now – so understanding him whilst he’s drunk has been second nature to him for a long time already.

‘What?’

‘I don’t want to go back to heaven!’, Minseok shouts this time, leaning his cheeks on Jongdae’s shoulder, ‘No one up there likes me! There’s no good music! And I have no friends!’

‘Alright, Minseok, calm down’, Jongdae says, trying to get the angel to quieten down since he’s sensing a few stares coming their way, turning back to see people looking at them. The evening has just started and Minseok is already drunk, which is not only embarrassing but disruptive, ‘You need to stop being drunk, okay? We’ll talk things through, but I need you to know how to walk by yourself, okay?’, he asks the angel, to which Minseok is silent for a minute – but he knows the angel’s going to listen to him – and before five minutes are up, Minseok coughs and lifts his head from Jongdae’s shoulders, feeling his throat slightly hoarse from the burning substance, but his headache and hazy state is gone.

‘God, I hate alcohol’, Minseok whines, rubbing the side of his head, getting rid of the manic hangover that quickly flushes over him. Thank God he can get rid of the headache in seconds.

‘You’re also sad?’, Jongdae asks again, sighing when he stares at the angel’s state, Minseok combing his hair back and wiping the dark undereye circles from his face, ‘I thought you would be’

‘There’s no other way… But I wish the Almighty can see that maybe it doesn’t have to be this way…’

‘It’s written down already’, Jongdae says, ‘But my plan will still work, I think. Humans are vulnerable and no power from above and below can stop human mortality’

‘I don’t want to kill anymore’, Minseok whines, leaning his forehead back on Jongdae’s shoulder, ‘I hated it’

‘I know you did’, Jongdae sighs, knowing that despite Minseok’s sadness, he didn’t have it in him to kill the antichrist, not even if he wanted to, ‘I can’t kill it. Satan will spite me once he finds out’

‘You’ll cease to exist’, Minseok whispers, feeling his stomach churn at the thought of Jongdae turning into dust, his whole being wiped out from the universe, ‘What are we going to do then?’

* * *

‘Byun Baekhyun’, Minseok bends down and looks at the sleeping baby on the cot, seeing the small antichrist looking innocent despite the prophecy placed on him, ‘He looks innocent’

‘Every child is, to begin with’, Jongdae sighs, sitting on the floor and picking up one of the stuffed toys on the ground, looking at its taunting eyes before throwing it back on the floor. The baby’s room is painted in pastel yellow, like the sun, along with shapes of elephants with wings flying across the walls. Everything looks innocent enough.

‘What if the antichrist stays innocent?’, Minseok tilts his head to the side at his suggestion, his eyes never leaving the baby, ‘Every human is innocent when they’re born, it’s their actions and thoughts that define who they become, whether they turn evil or not’

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘You’re right Jongdae. Satan made the huge risk of turning his son human, just like the Almighty. Jesus had every choice to turn back and refuse his prophecy, he has every opportunity to sin, but he didn’t’

‘Yeah, cause he’s Jesus’, Jongdae snorts, ‘Duh’

‘No, because God chose the perfect family who guided him to the right path… That’s exactly what Satan is doing by choosing this family’, Minseok says, his feathers fluttering in excitement when he slowly starts to piece a plan in his mind, ‘This family is going to be his downfall! And because of it, the root of evil will grow!’

‘Well done, angel’, Jongdae claps his hands sarcastically, ‘Now you know why we chose a diplomat’

‘But what if we became good?’, Minseok suggests, ‘What if we stir the boy in the right direction? As an angel, it’s my job to guide humans closer to the Lord, so I won’t be breaking any rules but giving him good friends and a support system, right?’

Jongdae picks up on Minseok’s idea, feeling slightly hesitant, but he keeps the angel talking, recollecting the times he also had to tempt Jesus into sin, although it didn’t work, there were times where he was close. Maybe Satan’s son has more of a vulnerability than the Almighty’s. Maybe this might work out.

‘So, we raise the kid, give him enough opportunities and stir him in a righteous direction?’

‘Why not?’, Minseok looks down at the demon, ‘We’ve done worse things together, right? Plus, if it works well, there’s nothing both sides can do’

‘So, you want us to raise this little fella? Together?’

‘Yeah, I can’t do it alone’, Minseok says, his eyes pleading, ‘Why not? Huh? Together?’

‘Fine’


	3. The Many Shenanigans Of Angel Minseok and Demon Jongdae.

_Chapter Two; the many shenanigans of Angel Minseok and Demon Jongdae._

‘You gave them the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil!’

Jongdae can hear the roaring voice of Minseok, his eyes looking down on the ground to see the great shadow on the angel, his wings open and wide as he lands behind him. He feels an intense kick on his back, causing him to tumble down and land on his hands, grazing his skin and causing it to bleed for a moment.

‘Are you insane!’

‘The Almighty would’ve spite me if she didn’t want me to do it!’, Jongdae defends himself, turning over so his back is leaning on the ground, his hand reached out as he feels Minseok landing on him, throwing a punch on his face, causing him to whine as he feels the powerful strength of the angel. He tries to get up but Minseok’s legs have trapped him from moving, so instead, he looks up to see the angel’s fiery eyes glaring down at him, his hand gripping on his shoulders, pressing him on the ground even more, ‘You know, I might fall in love with you if you keep doing this’, Jongdae jokes, chuckling when Minseok realises how close they are. The angel instantly stands up, huffing in frustration throughout the action.

‘You’re so… Urgh!’, Minseok didn’t have the words to describe how frustrated he is, pacing up and down in front of Jongdae as he looks over to the horizon, seeing Adam and Eve wandering around a barren desert, with no signs of food or water. He didn’t even know if God would make a small forest for them to rest upon, or if they’ll be wandering around the desert for the rest of their lives, ‘I do hope they’ll be okay…’, he whispers, a whimper stuck in his voice as he worries for the human. He has grown to care for them during the past few weeks, even finding their banter amusing – so to see them kicked out is something Minseok feels saddened over. And it’s all because of a stupid demon.

‘They’ll be fine’, Jongdae says, groaning as he gets up, dusting off his toga and turning to look at Minseok’s direction, ‘They’re made in God’s image, so they’ll know how to survive’, he states as he walks over to stand beside Minseok. The angel glares at the sudden closeness, but he doesn’t stop it. Angels don’t hold grudges, unlike demons, but Jongdae did have a point. God would have never have allowed it if it wasn’t supposed to happen. This must be part of her plan.

‘I think she’s expecting’, Minseok frowns, observing Eve and seeing hr hunched posture and growing stomach.

‘Wait’, Jongdae squints at the horizon, noticing something burning in Adam’s hands, ‘Is that your flaming sword?’, he asks and he turns to spot the angel tensing, refusing to look at him and not saying a word. Jongdae knows angels can’t lie, ‘You gave your sword to them?!’

‘Shhh! Don’t say it out loud! The Almighty might hear you’, Minseok shushes him and Jongdae begins to laugh, clapping his hands like a mad seal, disbelief that an angel can give away such a powerful weapon to weak humans.

‘You’re an idiot’

‘Shut up! I was just worried’, Minseok defends himself, a small pout forming on his bottom lip as he folds his arm and ignores Jongdae’s howls of laughter, which can be heard from miles away.

‘You truly are an angel, aren’t you?’, Jongdae says, wiping the tears forming from the corners of his eyes. Before the two beings can continue to argue with one another, they hear a growl in the skies, looking up to see the shadowing grey clouds covering the sun, streaks of light landing on Earth and another howl from above. Minseok can suddenly feel a trickle of water dripping from the skies, flooding the world. He disperses his wings, his head from getting wet as he feels the cold-water land on his feathers instead.

‘What is this?’, Jongdae asks, looking up to find where the water was coming from, his cheeks and hair getting wet. Minseok rolls his eyes and opens up his other wing, hovering it above Jongdae, blocking him from the rain.

‘It’s rain’, Minseok explains, ‘It gives life to this world’

‘Does it?’, Jongdae asks, edging closer to the angel, ‘It just looks like God’s crying’

‘Maybe she is’, Minseok whispers, looking ahead and praying that the humans will be alright. His wings are soaked alright, but he didn’t mind. He feels Jongdae pressed against his side, holding onto him as the demon uses his wings to cover himself from the rain.

‘Thanks angel’, he hears the demon and he feels like he didn’t hear it the first time since demons aren’t supposed to be grateful, but then again, they were once angels too, surely, they still keep some form on etiquette.

‘You’re welcome’

* * *

_Roman Empire, 31 BC_

Minseok is hidden in the middle of the feast, celebrating whatever the Emperor is celebrating this time. The new Emperor has a way of celebrating even the smallest of things, so every day is a party, which Minseok didn’t mind. He gets to try different food that humans come up with now that they’ve established the inventions that will allow them to do more than cook their food beneath a burning fire. He has witnessed great humans extracting small ingredients from plants to mix in with their meat. It’s a masterpiece, to say the least. He’s quite a big fan of their fish and oysters, along with their spices and sauces.

The Almighty has given him the duty to look over the humans whilst they populate the Earth. Minseok knows the almighty is busy preparing the arrival of her son which would be soon, so she had no times to oversee humans and their actions. He wonders if her son will like the food as much as he will, he’s sure to show him around all the good areas of Earth.

‘Minseok?’

The angel turns, his wings hidden underneath his white toga, blending in with the rest of the humans, but along with him, is a disguised demon, his black wings hidden underneath his black toga, his eyes covered in spectacles covered with a dark frame to block out his snake-like eyes.

‘Jongdae? What the hell are you doing here?’, Minseok grimace at the sight of him, rolling his eyes when Jongdae obnoxiously chooses to sit next to him despite his unwelcoming expression.

‘You’re still not mad about the fallen of humanity thing, right?’, Jongdae snickers, grabbing a cup of wine from the table, he senses Minseok’s lack of patience and he shakes his head, ‘I didn’t know angels can hold grudges’

‘This all happened because you tempted them the fruit of knowledge’, Minseok hisses to Jongdae, ironic since it was the demon snake who usually does that.

‘Well, you’re welcome’, Jongdae raises his cup, ‘Because of me, you’re enjoying quite a meal’, he points down to the plate of food Minseok has in front of him, to which the angel couldn’t rebuke. They allow the music to flow, listening to the humans singing with each other, loud and out of tune, but harmony is there, a sense of comradery in the room. Minseok knows that humanity is far less perfect to what it originally was, but he couldn’t help but the sense, even in the darkened hearts of humans, there’s still the light the Almighty has placed in every single one of them that still flickers, albeit small and sometimes unnoticeable. It makes it worth protecting them.

‘Well, I supposed humans aren’t all that bad’

‘That’s the spirit angel’, Jongdae says, grabbing a fork and piercing it on Minseok’s food, stealing a bite, ‘Have a bit of fun. We still have quite a long time here’

‘How do you know?’

‘I just do’

The music changes, humans getting up from their seats and dancing with each other, their footsteps stomping on the floor as the instruments play louder at the front. Minseok is distracted for a bit, turning his head back to watch them, hands linking as they spin each other around, dresses flowing with the wind, some offbeat, others perfectly in tune.

‘Wanna dance, angel?’, Jongdae asks, smirking when he didn’t give Minseok time to answer, grabbing his wrist and pulling him up from his seat.

‘No, no, wait… I-’, Minseok tries to dispute Jongdae’s offer, but the demon is already pulling him into the crowd, prancing along with the music, laughing when he sees the angel accidentally bumping into other humans whilst trying to get out of the crowd, but Jongdae holds his grips, spinning him around, ‘Jongdae, stop! I-’

‘Just keep dancing!’, Jongdae shouts to him, commanding him to dance with him, his feet offbeat and body jumping in the air, making Minseok laugh.

Minseok blames the demon, he’s good at tempting, which is why he finds himself following Jongdae’s moves, prancing around with the rest, following their joyous yet erratic movements, letting go of his pressures of looking over humanity and spending his night becoming one of them. He feels Jongdae’s hands reaching out to hold him, the two beings getting lost in each other for a moment’s breath.

* * *

_Han Dynasty, Silk Road, 1254 AD_

Jongdae sits on the back of one of the carriages, surrounded in refine silk, packed and ready for trading. He looks out behind, letting the horses drag him along with the goods as he sees the dust fly around them, the heat of the sun pressing on their skin. He can sense the horses tire along with their owner. He bites into his apple, paying no mind as he swings his legs, his other hand holding onto one of the boxes to keep still due to the bumpy road.

There are a few carriages carrying spice and jewellery ahead of them, the groups of traders banding together and keeping close due to the fright of the horizon, greeting them with nothing but dry sands and long days, followed by terrible cold nights with gusting winds. Jongdae almost feels sorry for the humans. He knows their bodies aren’t fit to withstand such extreme weathers, and as the centuries pass by, their anatomy weakens.

But then his eyes flash up once he sees a shadow dancing on the ground. He immediately smiles when he sees Minseok flying over them, a watchful eye protecting the humans, his wings tall and powerful, gushing cold winds in their direction, bathing them from the heat for a moment.

‘Hey! What brings you here!’, Jongdae shouts, standing up from the carriage, spreading his black wings, some of his feathers falling off when he flutters them.

Minseok looks down and spots the familiar voice. He hasn’t seen Jongdae in at least two centuries, but he still remembers his loud voice. He watches as Jongdae leaves his carriage, flying up in the air to join him, letting his wings get some exercise.

‘I heard there’s a new group of traders still travelling. There’s going to be a thunderstorm soon and I wanna make sure they’re okay’

‘Oh, the ever-loving angel’, Jongdae jokes, his playful expression already taunting Minseok, ‘How did you know that I was assigned the job to flood their paths?’

‘I didn’t know it was going to be you’, Minseok glares, ‘All I know, is that I can’t let it happen. These people have families to feed’

‘You’re probably using that excuse to see me again’, Jongdae smirks, flying around Minseok like a child, ‘Did you miss me that much?’

‘I don’t even remember your name’, Minseok huffs in annoyance, flapping his wings and forcing the winds to push Jongdae back from him, but the demon has just as many powers in his wings, pushing Minseok back.

‘Don’t hurt me like that, angel’, Jongdae fakes a pout, pressing the palm of his hand on his chest, imitating pain, ‘I thought you and I have gotten close’

‘Not even’, Minseok rolls his eyes, but the two beings are still flying in the air, chasing each other, Jongdae racing as he tries to catch Minseok to which the angel screams, laughing when Jongdae finally got a hold of his waist, pulling him back and spinning them around, the two emitting another gush of wind which blows fiercely.

The humans notice the strong winds, and they cover their face from the dust flying towards them, massaging their horses who are starting to become frightful.

* * *

_London, 1595_

The harp plays on and Minseok watches as the young boy in a dress and wig stands on stage, staring out to his lover as he slowly dies, red cloth flowing out of his dress, showcasing blood before he falters on the ground.

‘This is depressing’

Then angel turns to find the voice interrupting such a saddening scene, his eyes landing on a demon. He ignores Shakespeare’s angry voice bellowing, assigning his actors with new commands and directions to which Minseok can tell they were fed up with it. He tries not to think much of the demon’s presence, but he knows whenever Jongdae is around, something from below is at play.

‘What are you doing here?’, he asks as Jongdae takes a step forward towards the stage, inspecting the new Globe Shakespeare has made for himself after his previous one collapsed. The angel follows the demon, nervous for what Jongdae has up his sleeves.

‘I’m supposed to be heading over to Scotland, apparently, they want another rebellion and I might need to push them a little further’

‘Another one?’, Minseok asks, sighing as they walk closer to the stage, ‘They’ve failed all of them, why do they still wanna try?’

‘Apparently, they have a new Queen’, Jongdae informs, leaning his arm on the angel’s shoulder as they listen to the dramatic playwright twirling around the stage as he directs the actor. Jongdae raised an eyebrow at the eccentric character, tilting his head and listening to his screams of passion, ‘What is up with that guy? Why do you enjoy watching his plays?’

‘He may be an oddball, but I think he’s a genius’, Minseok replies, always trying to defend his interest to a demon who’d rather watch free beheadings right across the road, ‘Anyway, is the new Queen of Scots more powerful than Queen Elizabeth?’, the angel presses onto the matter up North. If there’s going to be another rebellion, he needed to make sure of the odds so he can help the English Queen when the time comes.

‘We’ll just have to find out’, Jongdae says, skipping in front so that he’s facing the angel, a playful smirk on his lips, ‘Or maybe you can find out with me?’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Come to Scotland with me’, Jongdae offers, showing his black wings, ‘I heard the scenery is still beautiful’

‘But it’s so cold up there’, Minseok whines, not a fan of going up North due to the piercing winds and lots of snow, ‘I’d rather not’

‘Oh, come on angel’, Jongdae pushes him lightly, urging him on, ‘When was the last time you flew?’, Minseok sees the way Jongdae’s wings fluttered, showing excitement at the thought of being in the air again. As an angel, he has to admit, that finding an excuse to just fly around and feel the air beneath his wings have been scarce due to his work with the humans. He had to blend in with them, so he’s been walking on foot or riding his horse for decades now. He did want to feel ethereal again.

‘But the opening night is tonight’, Minseok says, looking back on stage and seeing Shakespeare adjust the actors' costume whilst telling them to be as loud and passionate as ever when it came to the final act. Jongdae rolls his eyes and snickers at the angel’s genuine worry. He couldn’t find the thrill in sitting down and watching a play for an hour, but he supposes he can be lenient with the angel.

‘We’ll be back before sundown’, Jongdae promises him, ‘We just need to check how far the rebellion is from here and then we’ll be back for the play’

‘Are you gonna watch it with me?’, Minseok asks, a glint of excitement in his voice when Jongdae added himself into the equation.

‘Let’s see what this Shakespeare guy got that you’re fawning over’, Jongdae shrugs, his wings opening up as he flies out of the open theatre, Minseok immediately smiling and joining him, his wings finally appearing after so long, fluttering open and racing Jongdae.

* * *

_Russia, St. Petersburg, 1917_

‘You idiot!’, Minseok flies pass the snowy weather, landing on top of a building as he overlooks the thousands of protestors, rioting across the street, setting fire in buildings, screaming as they head towards the Winter Palace, ‘You just started a revolution!’

‘No one from your side was gonna do anything about it’, Jongdae shrugs as he sits down on the edge of the building, swinging his legs as he watches the actions unfold, the city slowly turning into chaos once the bottle explodes and the people can no longer allow themselves to be oppressed.

‘There are better ways in dealing with this’, Minseok informs the demon, ‘The humans have made politics for this particular reason’

‘Well, look ahead of you angel’, Jongdae throws a pebble at the landscape, ‘Do you think politics is helping them now?’

‘You should’ve waited’, Minseok growls, lifting Jongdae’s shirt and forcing him to stand up, turning him around and glaring at the demon who nonchalantly pierced temptation in the hearts of many workers that may die tonight now that the revolution as commenced and a war between the people has begun, ‘There are people who’re going to die’

‘At least they’re dying for a cause, not starvation’, Jongdae pushes Minseok out of the way, walking forward and lifting his wings, disappearing in the smokes and leaving Minseok, but the angel isn’t as nice as he used to be. He flutters him white wings open, following Jongdae. He reaches his hand out and grabs Jongdae once more, using all the force and strength he can muster as he drags them back to the nearest building, throwing the demon on the rooftop, hearing the thud and Jongdae groaning.

‘Why would you start a revolution and pretend to care for the people?!’, Minseok shouts, ‘You’re a demon! Your job is to destroy this Earth, so don’t pretend you’re doing this for the people! That’s my job!’

‘I was an angel too!’, Jongdae shouts back, standing up and retracting his wings as he stomps to where Minseok is, grabbing his collar and throwing him against the wall, ‘You think I forgot what I was just because the Almighty replaced my white wings with black ones?’, Jongdae questions with his frustration and fury in his voice. Minseok is a trap between Jongdae’s arms, pressed up against the wall and he feels Jongdae’s breath on him.

‘So, you’re telling me you didn’t get the order?’, Minseok asks, ‘You’re telling me you started this on your own for the good of the people?’

Jongdae sighs, looking up to stare at the angel’s eyes. He notices there’s galaxy hidden inside them, swirling around as they stare back at him.

‘No, I got the order’

‘Then you did this so people will die’, Minseok spits at him, causing Jongdae to stumble back, wiping his face. Minseok takes this opportunity to get away from the demon’s grasp, disappointed as he looks at Jongdae, ‘I thought you were better than the rest of them’

‘But I’m not though, am I?’, Jongdae laughs, chuckling as he wipes the spit off his face, his red eyes glowing as they glare at the angel, ‘I’m a demon’

‘Stop contradicting yourself’, Minseok says to him, ‘One minute you remember being an angel and wanting to do good for the people and now you’re telling me you’re a demon. Pick what you wanna be and stick with it’, there’s venom in the angel’s voice, attacking the demon, ‘Don’t pretend to be something you’re not’

‘And what exactly are you doing?’, Jongdae asks, ‘Conversing with a demon, isn’t that something an angel wouldn’t do?’

‘An angel is supposed to give love, even to the unloved’, Minseok repeats his mantra, ‘That includes demons’

Jongdae stares at the angel, seeing the smokes build up around them. He hears the screams and he looks down to find the protestors rioting in every neighbourhood in the city. He got given the order to start a riot, but he didn’t expect it to become this big, he didn’t think the people would become brave and reclaim the whole city to himself, he thought a simple strike would suffice, but he unknowingly lit a match that cannot be stopped.

‘Thanks to you, innocent people are dead’, Minseok whispers as he hears the whispers of mercy, human’s prayers as they hide from the violence. He hears them all and he feels pain. He didn’t have the energy to argue with Jongdae anymore instead, he flutters his wings open and flies out of the city, abandoning the demon and making his way to the Heavenly headquarters.

* * *

_London, 1941 (Second World War)_

The city is pitch black, the roads are sullen and quiet, not a pin drop can be heard as Minseok walks through the cobbled street, finding himself inside a Church with a bag by his side. He hears the whispers of prayers from frightened mothers and children, life at a standstill as they wait for the night to end.

The wooden doors creaked open, the emptiness of the Church giving off a frightening aura. Minseok suddenly hears the loud engines of the German aircraft flying just above the skies, looming as they induce fear in the people, waiting for the explosions to come to them.

‘Have you got the papers?’, a man walks out from the shadows, a cigar resting between his lips.

‘Yes’, Minseok feels like his bag got heavier for a reason and he nervously steps to face the man. He’s never meddled with humans like this before, working with the secret intelligence in a war which is slowly getting out of control. The Almighty probably wouldn’t approve of his decision as he speaks to the British spy, ‘Everything you asked for is here’

‘Great, now hand it over’, he commands and despite his rude behaviour, Minseok reaches out his hand, handing him the bag.

However, before the bag disappears in the hands of the British intelligence, they hear the doors creaking open and another figure joining their secret meeting.

‘Ow! Bloody hell!’

Minseok furrows his eyebrows as he sees the silhouette jumping up and down as he walks towards them, the dark covering his face, but the angel recognises the voice almost immediately and he shakes his defences up.

‘Jongdae?’, he calls out and when the moonlight hits the figure, he sees the demon’s expression, whining as he leans on the chair, trying not to show too much pain but he’s inside the church, he’s gonna feel pins and needs everywhere, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Saving you from making the war worse!’, Jongdae groans as he tries to speak, taking off his hat and leaning it on the chair, ‘You idiot, you need to check before you trust humans these days’, he jumps a little at the aching feeling in his body, like being pricked by a thousand needles all at once, making him squirm again.

‘Who is this?’, the spy asks, throwing his cigar on the ground and stepping on it, ‘I thought I told you, we’re to meet her alone’

‘I never asked him to come’, Minseok informs him, ‘I haven’t spoken to him in decades’

‘Well, I can’t have anyone else knowing about this operation’, the spy says as he dips his hand inside his jacket and Minseok steps back when he notices the shotgun resting on his hand, bringing his bag back to him, ‘I’m afraid I have to eliminate any rats’

‘Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea’, Minseok warns him, reaching his hand out to try and stop him but the spy points at the gun at him, resting the tip on his forehead.

‘Give me the bag now’

‘Woah, why’re you aiming that at me for?’, Minseok is confused by the growing nerves coming from the spy, his voice starting to become desperate as he reaches his hand out and shouts for him to hand over the bag again, ‘We’re on the same side’

‘No, you’re not’, Jongdae says between whines, ‘He’s a triple agent pretending to be for the British Intelligence but he’s working for the Germans’, the demon hops around as if he’s dancing on fire, cursing under his breath as the pain grows.

‘What?!’, Minseok yells, turning back to glare at the spy, ‘Is he telling the truth?’

The spy, confused as to why he got found out when he made sure all of his steps were sharp and secretive, aims the gun back at Minseok and shoots him in the head, grabbing for the bag and running whilst shooting Jongdae too,

‘Urgh’, Jongdae whines when he looks down to see the gunshot. He’s already in pain, the last thing he needs is a hole in his body, ‘What a hassle’, he whines as he clicks his fingers and the loud engines of the German aircraft coincidentally hover right above the Church, choosing it as its target to drop the bomb.

‘What a traitor!’, Minseok gasps as he stands up from the impact of the shot, the hole in his head slowly disappearing as he clicks his fingers, locking every door in the Church, trapping the spy inside the building as the bomb drops down on them.

The Church collapses, burying the traitor to his head, the explosion causing rubble to fly everywhere, starting a fire to which Minseok flutters his wings, getting rid of the smoke around him, his eyes landing on the broken surroundings. He clicks his fingers to stop the fire from spreading as he walks around the rubble.

‘Finally!’, Jongdae breathes out a huge sigh of relief as he stands on the pile of rubble, stretching his arms out, ‘That was bloody painful’, Minseok once again stares at the demon, seeing him jumping from one pile to the other, looking around the remains of the Church and smiling to himself.

‘Why did you do that?’, Minseok asks, awkward since they haven’t spoken since their argument in 1917, approaching the demon who seems a little too happy at the thought of a Church being blown up.

‘You’re going to prolong the war if you give that information to the wrong people’, the demon replies, ‘Plus you’ll get in trouble for aiding the Germans’

‘So, you helped me? What for?’, Minseok noticed that the demon didn’t say anything, just standing on the rubble and looking around. He noticed the Church isn’t the only building that got hit. The war has just begun and this much terror has crossed the country. His colleagues were patting him on the back at his proclamation that it was him who started it – but in reality, it wasn’t him – humans beat him to it and started another war.

‘Just because’, Jongdae shrugs, but Minseok thinks otherwise. A demon wouldn’t step foot inside a Church unless he needed too and even then, they’d rather be dead.

‘I supposed I should probably get back my files and give it to the right people’, Minseok didn’t urge Jongdae to give him a proper reply, instead, he steps over the pile of rock and glass, kicking one which buried the bag, picking it up and ignoring the body lying dead on the ground.

‘Do you want me to come with you?’, Jongdae offers, ‘Just in case?’

They haven’t necessarily apologised to each other after their argument, and Minseok knows Jongdae’s too stubborn to say he’s sorry right in front of him, but he supposes if the demon is willing to step foot in a Church for him, that was enough of an apology for him to accept.

‘Okay’, Minseok agrees, a spoken agreement made between them that they’ve forgiven each other, Jongdae smiling as he flutters his black ashen wings, flying up in the skies and being joined by the pure angel, making a race of whoever gets to the Parliament first.

* * *

_Pyeongchang, Korea, 1953_

Minseok kneels on the ground, his arms outstretch as he lays an unconscious soldier on the ground of the hospital room, the building having no more space to care for everyone. He looks around, seeing the new troop limping in, some being carried, their limbs missing, their skin ripped off from their faces.

Solemnly, he walks around, his hands outstretched, softly touching each soldier, giving them as much ease as his powers can allow, seeing their wincing faces slowly relax. He couldn’t save them all, he knows that – he has no power to interfere with human life – but then again, he wishes the angel of healing can come forth and save them all. His whispers are soft yet powerful, looming a protective blanket over them.

‘Angel’, Minseok turns, his wings bent behind his back as he watches Jongdae walking over to him, ‘It’s going to be over soon’

‘Is it though?’, Minseok asks, his voice broken, ‘Because it doesn’t look like it will’

‘It’ll be over soon. I promise, angel’, Jongdae says again, this time standing beside the angel and pulling him into a hug. The wars have taken a toll on Minseok and Jongdae knows it. They were halfway through this century and they’ve had to experience numerous wars. Jongdae caused havoc along with the other demons, using this opportunity to spread their darkness, but from the cracks of darkness, Jongdae will escape his team, leaving them as he flies over to where the light is, seeing Minseok and a few other angels walking down the broken streets, looking down on the dying humans with blue tears running down their cheeks. He notices Minseok’s desperation for the first time.

‘I just want them to find peace again’, Minseok sighs in Jongdae’s arms, allowing the demon to embrace him, not at all frightened of him anymore, in fact, he welcomed the hug, wrapping his arms around Jongdae’s waist as he feels wet tears streaming down his face. The humans pass them by, rushing from one bed to another as they cater to as many soldiers as they can. The angel opens his eyes, resting his chin on Jongdae’s shoulders as he watches a soldier crying, looking down on where his legs should be, but finding nothing, his howls being heard around the whole room. He feels his heartache and he clutches onto Jongdae tighter.

Jongdae turns around to see what the angel sees, hearing the howling too. The two beings hold onto each other as they watch the poor soldier.

‘Hey’, another soldier taps him on the shoulder and Jongdae and Minseok watch as the howling human look to his left to see a fellow soldier smiling at him, showing him his missing arm. The two reluctantly stare at each other, before smiling, finding a connection that allowed them to find ease amid chaos and heartbreak. The soldier slowly stops crying, wiping his tears and forcing himself to continue smiling.

‘Humans are so resilient’, Jongdae whispers, watching as the two soldiers forming a silenced bond, ‘I sometimes envy that’

‘Yeah’, Minseok smiles, wiping his tears, ‘Me too’


	4. Fairly Odd Godparents.

_Chapter Three; fairly odd godparents._

Minseok and Jongdae have tricked the Byun family that they’ve been a family friend of theirs for years. It worked well when Jongdae took off his glasses and his red glaring eyes have tempted the Byun family into believing their side of the story. Jongdae had a masterplan to create trust with the antichrist’s human parents, making them believe that they are the perfect candidate to be the baby’s godparents.

The angel didn’t like to watch the demon do it since it always scared him how humans can so easily be manipulated with a push, but he allows it to happen and that’s why they’re here now, inside the Byun’s residency in London, close to the Parliament.

‘This fucking devil won’t stop crying!’, Jongdae whines as he cradles the antichrist in his arms, trying to get him to stop crying as Minseok tries to clean the living room, crunching his nose as he takes out the bin full of used diapers and walking out to the front, ‘Minseok come back! I don’t know how to make it stop!’

‘One second!’, Minseok shouts back as he closes the front door, walking back in and hearing the screams coming from the baby and Jongdae once again trying to cradle him in his arm, ‘Maybe he’s hungry?’, he asks as he bends down a little, stroking baby Baekhyun’s cheeks.

‘We just fed him!’, Jongdae shouts to which Minseok hits him on the head, telling him off that his loud voice is the reason why the baby’s getting irritated.

‘Maybe his diaper needs changing’, the angel thinks, ‘We fed him twenty minutes go, surely we need to check just in case’

‘I’m not cleaning up human secretion’, Jongdae whines, passing the baby in Minseok’s arms, shivering at the thought that the baby has just pooed in his diapers and he’s holding him right now, ‘I can’t believe the Almighty designed them like this’

‘Don’t whine’, Minseok rolls his eyes, walking upstairs with Jongdae following behind him, ‘You’re not the baby here’

They make it to the nursery room, a big room painted in blue with drawings of elephants with wings pasted all over the wall, a cot with stuffed teddy bears inside. The angel places the baby down on the changing table, hearing Baekhyun continue to cry as he flails his arms around.

‘What now?’, Jongdae asks when Minseok looks at him for help, not sure what to do. He’s only ever seen Baekhyun’s human mother changing his diapers, he’s never done it himself, so he didn’t know where to begin.

‘I have no idea…’, Minseok whispers to the demon, the two ethereal and frightening beings on Earth standing side by side, confused as they stare at a crying baby.

‘I’m sure it’s not too bad’, Jongdae says, although his voice is hushed and nervous, ‘We get rid of the diaper and clean him up. That should be easy enough, right?’

Well, it isn’t.

‘Ewwwww! How can a small thing produce something so vile!’

‘He’s the devil’s son! We should’ve expected this!’, Jongdae whines as he stops breathing, grabbing the used diaper and throwing it in the bin before the smell travels around the room. He goes back and stands behind Minseok, leaning his chin on the angel’s shoulders as he watches the angel grimace as he cleans the baby.

‘Grab me a new diaper, quickly! Quickly!’, Minseok commands the demon, Jongdae rushing back with a fresh diaper to which the angel grabs it, holding his breath and tying it around the baby. By this point, Baekhyun has stopped crying, his eyes curiously looking at the two beings in front of him, watching their dramatic expression and finding it funny.

‘Do we have to do this every time?’, Jongdae whines, breathing out a sigh of relief as Minseok sprays the room with perfume, leaning on Minseok, ‘Can’t we just kill him?’

‘No’, Minseok slaps his arm, ‘We’re going to do this probably and prove to both our sides that humans are still redeemable’, the angel argues back, annoyed that Jongdae is still bringing out his initial plan which he’s refused for the millionth time already. The demon wants to argue back, and he’s about to but then they hear giggling coming from the baby and their eyes turn to look down on him, seeing his gummy smile as he reaches his hand out, wanting to be cradled again, no longer uncomfortable and crying.

Minseok is mesmerised by the little fella at first, smiling from ear to ear at the joyous little creature. Jongdae noticed the angel’s smile and stops him from thinking any further. He picks up the baby himself and cradles it in his arms whilst giving a warning look to the angel.

‘Don’t fall in love with the kid’, Jongdae says, ‘He’s the bringer of death and destroyer of the world’

‘Yeah I know that’

‘Good’

* * *

Baekhyun’s mother had a meeting with her work whilst his father is speaking to the embassy due to his sudden promotion to become a diplomat, solidifying his permanent stay in London which caused an argument between the married couple, causing the riff that Jongdae had expected. Most trouble sparks at home and it won’t be long till Baekhyun hears the replacement of laughter with screams of hatred between his two human parents.

Right now, the two humans have decided to give each other space, focusing on their work rather than on each other. Jongdae gets a text from the mother, asking him to take care of Baekhyun since she’ll be out all day.

Baekhyun’s only a few months old, barely touching a year and he’s already being slowly abandoned by his parents. The demon couldn’t help but feel sorry when he steps foot inside the house and he finds the baby playing by himself in the living room, crawling to were the stuffed toy was.

‘Hey little devil’, Jongdae kneels to face him, reaching his hand out and stroking his cheeks. The baby looks up and instantly smiles at the familiar face in front of him, crawling towards Jongdae. The demon sits down on the floor and lifts baby Baekhyun, letting the baby lay on his lap, ‘You hungry?’, he asks but baby Baekhyun just smiles at him, his tiny hands reaching out, wanting to hold something.

The demon reaches his hand out to hold Baekhyun’s tiny little ones, and he smiles when he sees Baekhyun’s hands barely big enough to wrap itself around his finger. He’d rather die than admit it to the angel, but he found the devil cute.

* * *

_Christmas 2007_

Jongdae and Minseok are invited for the Byun’s small family dinner during Christmas. It’s been a year since they’ve been announced as Baekhyun’s godparents, pictures of them hung in the living room. Minseok finds it weird to fake a long-lasting relationship between the parents when they’ve only just met each other recently, but he continues the façade, allowing Baekhyun’s father to talk about their college days, pretending he also went to college in Korea.

Thankfully, both Jongdae and Minseok had been hanging around on Earth long enough to learn every single language to be invented, being able to converse with them in Korean with ease, making their fake lives more believable.

The angel felt the rift between the two couple, starting from a couple of months ago and it continues to grow as they barely spoke to each other but the pair instead.

‘So, little Baekhyun’s first Christmas’, Jongdae smiles, seeing the baby crawling around the living room, Baekhyun’s mother smiling as she stands up from the dining table, picking up her bundle of joy and placing him on her lap.

‘He’s been growing so quickly’, she smiles, cooing at him, ‘I’m afraid it’ll be a blink of an eye and he becomes a grown man’

The two beings stare at each other, not wanting to be obvious in their nervous state at the thought of Baekhyun growing up already. The impending doom that will occur is something they still haven’t quite thought out yet. They’ve spoken about Dooms Day, more often than they’d like to admit, but that still doesn’t mean they’re prepared for it.

They find themselves sitting on the floor, a Christmas film playing on the TV as they watch the Christmas lights turn on, wrapping itself around the tree placed at the centre of the living room, surrounded by boxes of perfectly wrapped presents, splashed in different colours.

Minseok smiles at the angel placed on top of the Christmas tree, seeing the figurine with its wings open and halo on top of its head.

The night is peaceful, with Jongdae and Minseok playing with Baekhyun whilst his mother finishes cleaning up in the kitchen and his father busy taking another phone call for work. Minseok laughs at the way Baekhyun giggles whenever Jongdae tickles him, the demon allowing the antichrist to jump on his lap and hug him.

‘Little Baekhyun’s going to be walking soon’, Minseok coos, watching once Baekhyun – with his short attention span – seeing a piece of wrapping paper on the floor, crawling off Jongdae’s lap and towards it, wanting to play around with the piece of colourful paper.

That should frighten Jongdae, to think that time is speeding up and Baekhyun is slowly growing up, but he watches the little antichrist giggling as he waves the wrapping paper around, giggling at his amusement and Jongdae couldn’t help but smile, imagining the little devil stumbling up to his feet as he tries to walk for the first time.

‘He’ll be saying his first words soon too’, Jongdae points out as he leans his head on the angel’s shoulders, the pair sharing a moment of silence. Baekhyun has grown up so much within the first few months of its mission.

Minseok has been evident that he’s starting to grow fond of the boy, sometimes forgetting that his fate is going to end the world as they know it. How can he think that when little Baekhyun still relies on him to carry him around, smiling when feeds him and crying when it’s time for him to go home?

Jongdae, on the other hand, is the demon who hides his feelings – but not that well – he would find himself driving at three o’clock in the morning, passing by a closed toy shop and seeing a big stuffed teddy bear by the window only to come back the following morning, asking the shopkeeper for it. He’s also the one to hear the shouting from the parents, following them around and seeing the father’s promiscuous stares at his secretary, hearing his words of promises to other women. He can sense the bubbling anger from the mother, the rise in alcohol in her system before he drowns it with water and Ibuprofen before coming back home. He begins to be hesitant passing over little Baekhyun when he can smell the alcohol on her, but this is why they chose this family. The demons knew they were going to fall apart the moment Satan’s son comes into their life – because that’s what little Baekhyun is supposed to be raised around.

But right now, it’s Christmas, and the fake smiles are on, so at least there’s a moment of peace tonight. And as he looks at the way the angel smiles and claps his hands when Baekhyun crawls towards him, he feels relieved at the thought that little Baekhyun will have Minseok to care for him when the time comes and his family becomes his downfall. It’s kind of ironic to think that Minseok is now the antichrist’s guardian angel but it’s even weirder to have a demon like him to help out too. It’s been millions of years since the last time he remembered being an angel, and back then, humanity wasn’t even invented yet. All he ever did was cause chaos to humans. He didn’t know whether he’ll have the power to steer little Baekhyun in the righteous path.

‘Oh my… Almighty Heavens, Jongdae look!’, Minseok shakes his arms, interrupting his train of thoughts, ‘Look! Baekhyun’s standing up by himself!’, Jongdae turns to where the angel is pointing, seeing the little antichrist getting up on his feet as he tries to touch one of the baubles hanging on the tree, his tiny little hands trying to grab the round shiny thing his eyes have suddenly focused on.

‘Woah’, Jongdae immediately starts to freak out. He suddenly feels a heightened feeling, mixed with excitement and fear, wanting to run over and pick the baby up before he falls but wanting to see whether Baekhyun can slowly walk. It’s been months since they’ve walked into this household, pretending to be family, and to his knowledge, kids start to walk around this time.

‘Where're his parents? They need to see this!’, Minseok urges Jongdae, looking around and about to call them, wanting this moment to be experienced by everyone

Jongdae, on the other hand, pulls his arm back, forcing the angel to sit down as he smells something bitter in the air, sensing another spite between the two humans and he shakes his head at Minseok, warning him that it’s not a good idea to bring them in the living room. He doesn’t want Baekhyun’s first memory of his Christmas to be ruined by another fight. The angel’s expression falters at the warning look, knowing what Jongdae’s thinking without being told, sitting back down on the floor and watching the baby whining as he tries to grab the bauble.

‘Is it just going to get worse?’, he whispers to Jongdae, knowing the answer without the need for confirmation, but why did it hurt when the demon nods his head?

‘He’s not going to get his Mary and Joseph’, Jongdae sighs, leaning his arm on his knees, his sleeves rolled up, showing his tattoos.

‘That’s why he’s got us, right?’, Minseok says, slowly bringing his smile back as he stares back at little Baekhyun, watching his tiny little hands finally pulling out the bauble and chuckling to himself. That was the plan from the beginning, to give Baekhyun as much love and support as possible so that in turn, he’ll make his own decision and choose humanity over anything.

That means it’s Minseok and Jongdae’s job to love him. And the angel has clear confidence that he can do that.

‘Hey, little Baekhyun, can you come here?’, Minseok coos, clapping his hands and gaining the baby’s attention, ‘Can you walk to me?’, he asks, his voice high-pitched and squeaky, making Jongdae laugh. The demon had a habit of staring at the way the angel dotes on little Baekhyun. It was the way his nose scrunched up when he smiles, the little way he softly claps whenever he tried to encourage little Baekhyun. He didn’t know Minseok when he used to be an angel and stayed in Heaven, but he can only assume he stayed the same all these millions of years; there’s still an essence of innocence and pure joy that he hasn’t seen in any other being.

Little Baekhyun gurgles, giggling as he turns to see the two smiling at him. He wants to run towards them, to run into their arms and feel safe as he always does whenever he’s around them. He stumbles a little, finding it hard now that he’s upright and on just two legs. He wants to fall on the ground and start crawling like he’s always done, but instinct tells him to keep standing, looking down on the floor and wanting to step his right foot forward.

‘Woah, Minseok, I think he’s going to do it’, now it’s Jongdae’s turn to start shaking the angel’s shoulder’s violent, watching little Baekhyun trying to walk over to them. Maybe it was the excitement or maybe it’s the Christmas spirit, but the demon finds himself hugging onto the angel as they both coo for little Baekhyun to come to them, smiling as they clap together, cheering when they witness Baekhyun take his first steps towards them, his arms outstretched, the bauble in his right hand.

‘Little Baekhyun!’, they both shouts, Minseok’s arms outreached as he hugs the baby tightly once Baekhyun finally made it to them.

‘He’s walking!’, Jongdae smiles, ‘This is better than when I witnessed Jesus walking on water!’, the angel punches Jongdae on the stomach, glaring at him as he points to the Christmas tree, reminding Jongdae just what day it is and the demon shuts up, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t proud of little Baekhyun. He strokes his smooth hair and leans his head on Minseok’s shoulder, watching as Baekhyun cradles himself into the angel’s arms, leaning his chubby cheeks on his Minseok’s chest.

* * *

‘Dada’

‘I’m not your dad’

‘Dada!’

‘Hells, why isn’t Minseok here’, Jongdae whines as he tries to give Baekhyun his privacy, but he read in a book somewhere that he should check that the little kid is doing it correctly, so he opens the door to the bathroom, seeing Baekhyun sitting down in his potty.

Baekhyun’s mother has told him they’re in the process in potty training him and asked him to help him out since she’s going to be at work all day and lord knows that the father won’t do it, so here he is, a demon feared by million, kneeling and helping the little antichrist take his first dump.

‘Dada, help me’, Baekhyun pouts and Jongdae feels bad. He didn’t know the idea of human anatomy. Despite living on Earth for thousands of years, he still couldn’t begin to break down the Almighty’s creation.

‘Come on little soldier’, Jongdae urges him on, ‘If you can get through this, I’ll take you out for some ice cream’, with the demon’s fake promises, Baekhyun smiles and tries again, scrunching his face.

A certain smell suddenly emits around the room and Jongdae almost gags, gasping in a breath as he pinches his nose, glaring at little Baekhyun.

‘Did you do that on purpose?’, he whines, seeing Baekhyun’s playful little smile, ‘You did that on purpose, you heathen!’, he hears Baekhyun’s giggling as he rolls some tissue, passing it to him, ‘If only Minseok was here…’

* * *

‘How was the day without me?’, Minseok asks when he hears someone slamming the door to his bookshop, knowing there’s only one person who could stomp their way inside his antique shop. He walks out of the storage room, chuckling when he sees Jongdae sitting down at one of the velvet seats he set up in the reading area, clicking his fingers and pouring himself a glass of wine which appeared in thin air.

‘I can’t believe you left me by myself for potty training’

‘I have a meet up with the angels above. You know I can’t cancel it’, Minseok says, setting the new books he bought in an auction down on the new shelves he purchased, ‘How was it? Did he do a good job?’

‘He wasn’t scared’, Jongdae points out, ‘He was a little dick though. He farted whilst I was inside the bathroom. He was laughing the whole time’

‘That’s good’, the angel smiles, sitting down on the spare seat beside the demon, ‘I read somewhere that this is one of the big changes for them, it’s stressful having to change their routines and most of the time they find it hard, so if Baekhyun’s laughing, that means you’re doing a good job’

Jongdae hides his smile, but he couldn’t help but feel somewhat proud of himself. He had to admit that he did quite a good job, he didn’t think he will, but here he was, spending the whole afternoon with Baekhyun, just the two of them.

‘So, anything happening upstairs?’, Jongdae asks, placing his wine glass on the coffee table in front of him, ‘Are they anticipating’

‘Yeah’, Minseok sighs, leaning his back on the chair, ‘They know that I’m keeping an eye on the antichrist and they’re asking me so many questions’

‘Like what?’

‘What’s he like? Is he evil yet? Does he have horns… You know, those kinds of stuff’

‘Does everyone think we all have horns? Still?’, Jongdae whines, ‘We were once angels you know; we still look the same!’

‘Except your wings are pitch black’

‘Yeah well, Satan always preferred the colour black so we all had to commit to the aesthetic’, Jongdae confessed, looking at Minseok and seeing the empty space behind his back – the angel has hidden his wings for obvious reasons – but he remembers what it looks like, how it would shine the moment the light touches it. He doesn’t use his wings much, but when he does, he can see the black feathers which only burns whenever he flies right underneath the sun.

‘He took a drastic turn’, Minseok comments, stealing a sip from Jongdae’s glass, ‘He’s the one who ripped his angel wings and had a rebellion phase’

‘Yeah’, Jongdae chuckles, ‘Replacing his wings with horns and now everyone thinks we’ve all done it’

‘I’m sure other demons have’, Minseok points out, ‘There were other over the top angels who followed him down to hell’

‘Yeah, I mean I see their rotting flesh and burning fingernails whenever I go down there for a meeting’, Jongdae confesses, ‘Most of them are slowly changing themselves the longer they stay down there in hell’

‘Does that mean you’re the only who still looks like us?’, Minseok asks and Jongdae shrugs, not knowing the answer. He’s sure there are still demons who kept their original form, their black wings dragging behind their back, reminding them of their past. He’s sure he’s not the only one, but he’s been ostracised by them due to his leisurely stay on Earth that he didn’t know the community anymore, the community he decided to follow all those millions of years ago.

* * *

‘Uncle Minseok! Look! They cast me as an angel!’, Baekhyun runs out onto the front of the school after the bell rings, his big backpack hanging behind him, his front teeth missing after Jongdae wanted to try the string on the door trick when he found out Baekhyun’s baby teeth were loose, Minseok closing his eyes at the stupidity as Baekhyun laughs the moment Jongdae slams the door shut, his front teeth flying out.

‘Oh my!’, Minseok smiles, picking him up and swinging him in the air, ‘You’re going to be the star of the nativity play!’

‘Angels are an overrated kid’, Jongdae rolls his eyes, his sunglasses resting on the tip of his nose as he scans around the playground, taking a look at all the children and their parents, ‘They should add a demon in there’

‘I think angels are amazing’, Minseok glares at Jongdae, ‘They are an imagery of purity and righteousness, which you should always be’, he pinches Baekhyun’s little nose, setting him down and grabbing his hands as they walk out of the school and towards Jongdae’s car which they started using the moment Baekhyun’s mother had asked them to start picking Baekhyun up after school.

‘I can’t wait to tell mummy and daddy! I hope they can come!’

Minseok and Jongdae look at each other before opening the door and settling Baekhyun down on his side of the car where the car seat was. The growing tension between the parents have grown and every night whenever they observe, they can hear their screams, shards of broken glass as arguments burn the heat between them. The two knows Baekhyun’s parents are the last two people to attend a school nativity play.

‘I’m sure they’ll be so proud of you’, Minseok smiles, trying to ignore Jongdae’s worried look, walking to the front and sitting shotgun.

‘You’re coming too right?’

‘Of course!’, Jongdae and Minseok say simultaneously, nodding as they drive away from school, the silence between the two worrying beings as Baekhyun continue to talk about his day.

* * *

‘His family situation is only going to get worse’, Jongdae warns Minseok as they enter the angel’s bookshop, ‘We need more support’

‘And what do we need to do?’, Minseok asks Jongdae, feeling slightly defeated when he finds a woman’s bra that’s not Baekhyun’s mother’s, getting a sense of new tension burning in the house. It wasn’t hard to piece things together, realising there must be a new woman in Baekhyun’s father’s life.

‘All I’m saying is, we can only do so much, but Baekhyun needs friends, a good supportive one that might have distracted him from the storm coming’, Jongdae is persuading and the angel couldn’t help but agree with him, there’s only so much they can do and it won’t be long till Baekhyun will face his teenage years where he might be a pain to deal with, but that’s the excitement that Minseok is waiting for, to watch little Baekhyun grow and become his person, to guide him through it all. He didn’t want anyone else doing it for him.

‘Fine, we’ll sweep the school and try to find a friend or two’, Minseok gives in, sipping his wine as he leans back on his chair, clicking his fingers and starting the fire in his fireplace, looking at the flickering orange ashes, hearing the crackling of the wood. Jongdae knows Minseok’s slightly upset and he couldn’t help but feel adoration at the angel trying to keep ownership of the little boy.

‘Baekhyun will still adore you’, Jongdae comforts him, his hand stroking the angel’s arm as he steals Minseok’s drink, sipping the red wine and sitting next to him, ‘He’s always adored you, and I don’t think that’ll change’

The angel smiles, turning to face Jongdae, seeing the demon smiling back at him, the pair hidden away in his storage room at the back of the bookshop, letting the world pass them by like they’ve always done, wasting time on Earth together.

* * *

Jongdae leans on the brick wall by the schoolyard, throwing the butt of his cigarette as he blows out the last smoke from his lungs before walking where the parents are waiting for their children. He sees the stares, he always gets them whenever it’s his turn to pick up Baekhyun from school, Minseok probably in Korea in the middle of an auction. The angel is desperate to grab his collections of books that have been dug up from caved architecture, something the demon couldn’t fathom. He couldn’t help but think that the angel had a weird hobby.

_‘He must be Baekhyun’s eccentric Uncle’_

Eccentric. Jongdae couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at their choice of word for him. He kept his sunglasses on, hiding his burning red eyes as he rolls up his sleeves, showing off his tattoos which only heightened their conversation, whispering and pointing at his coloured arms.

‘Uncle Jongdae!’

‘Little Baekhyun’, Jongdae smiles, kneeling with his arms outstretched, hugging Baekhyun who runs towards him, the pair almost falling with the impact. The demon smiles when he sees Baekhyun hugging him tightly and not letting go, ‘How are you little kid?’, he asks, stroking his messy hair back and pinching his cheeks to which Baekhyun just hides his face on his chest, mumbling for them to go home now.

The drive home isn’t as exciting as it usually is, Baekhyun silent and looking out of the window. Jongdae noticed how relieved Baekhyun looked when he saw him, hugging onto him as his life depended on it. It suddenly raised suspicion in the demon, one which he would usually let Minseok speak for, but since the angel is too busy being weird, he’s left with the job to ask the question.

‘Little Baekhyun, are you okay buddy?’, he asks, turning down the volume of the radio. He sees Baekhyun nodding, but that isn’t enough to convince him. He gave it another minute or two of silence, his car making a right turn instead of a left, passing Baekhyun’s neighbourhood and towards the town centre.

‘Where are we going, Uncle?’, Baekhyun asks when he looks out of the window and realises, they passed his house. Jongdae kept quiet for a couple more minutes before he parks his car next to an ice cream parlour, one they always pass since Minseok says sweets are bad for his teeth.

‘We are going to go inside and order big bubble-gum ice cream for you’, Jongdae says, watching Baekhyun’s wide grin slowly coming back, ‘But under one condition… Or maybe two’

‘What is it?’

‘You’re not allowed to tell Uncle Minseok that I took you here’, Jongdae points at him, making Baekhyun giggle, ‘But also, you have to tell me what’s wrong. Did something happen at school today?’, the smile slowly fades again from Baekhyun and Jongdae reaches his hand out, stroking his cheeks and giving him a reassuring smile, urging the little boy to tell him what was eating him up, ‘Come on little Baekhyun, you can tell me anything. You know, that right?’, it takes a couple more seconds, but Baekhyun slowly gives in, sighing as he leans his cheeks on Jongdae’s hands.

‘My classmates don’t like me’, he confesses, to which Jongdae seems shocked. He sometimes sees Baekhyun inside his classroom when he’s dropping him off in the morning, looking into the window to see the little boy smiling and laughing with the other kids. Since when did he start to get bullied?

‘When did it start?’

‘Yesterday’

‘Yesterday? What happened yesterday?’

‘There was a little bird that hit the window and it was in pain’, Baekhyun says, his eyes turning slightly shiny when telling the story, ‘You always told me it’s better to end a problem as quickly as possible, so I did’

‘Did what?’

‘I stopped the birdy from hurting. The teacher said it wasn’t going to live long anyway…’

‘You… Killed it?’, Jongdae asks and he can see the tears building in little Baekhyun’s eyes, the boy crying when he nods.

‘I felt very bad!’, Baekhyun says between his cries, his cheeks turning red and snot coming out of his nose, ‘It was hurting!’

‘Aw, don’t worry little Baekhyun’, Jongdae says, pulling him as he cradles Baekhyun on his lap, ‘You did the right thing’, he whispers, closing his eyes and kissing the top of Baekhyun’s head, ‘You did the right thing’, he murmurs that again and again until Baekhyun slowly stops crying, swaying him from side to side as he tries to calm the little kid down. He thinks things through and in a sense, Baekhyun did the right thing, albeit, it’s a murder that he did – which is a fear that Jongdae has – the demon often wonders if Baekhyun has built-in instincts which made him want to kill, and this might spark it. But the relentless guilt and crying made him wonder if it’s unnatural for Baekhyun, that their plan might be working in straying the antichrist away from his inner demons.

Once Baekhyun stops crying, Jongdae rolls down his sleeves and wipes the tears and snot away from his face, assuring Baekhyun that everything’s going to be alright before treating him to some ice cream, the pair sitting inside and making jokes, the demon adamant in making Baekhyun smile again.

He wonders whether to mention it to the angel, but he didn’t want Minseok to make a big deal out of something small. Ending the pain is something angelic, so he’s glad out of the pair of them, Baekhyun is taking Minseok’s instincts.

* * *

‘I’m sorry, but you’re not Byun Baekhyun’s parents, therefore we cannot have a meeting regarding him’, the principal says when she finds Minseok and Jongdae waiting at her front office after her secretary has informed that the two refuse to leave without speaking to her.

‘That’s bullshit, we’re his godparents’, Jongdae points out, ‘Mrs Byun has even taken both of us during parents evening with her once!’

‘That doesn’t mean you’re his legal guardian’, the principal informs them with her monotone voice, her eyes looking dead and bored as she turns off her computer, getting ready to leave her office.

‘I’m sorry’, Minseok says, pulling Jongdae back from being aggressive, ‘But we just want to make sure that he’s okay. He told us he’s been getting bullied’

‘That’s something I need to discuss with his parents’, the principal says, ‘Not the two of you’

‘Look, I’m sorry for intruding you like this, but this treatment towards us has been evident’, Minseok speaks out, ‘You’ve been highly rude and disrespectful to us when all we want is the betterment of Baekhyun whilst he’s at school. Is that a crime?’

‘It is when you’re trying to be his legal guardian when you should be informing hid parents instead to attend to the meetings I’ve emailed to them’, the principal responds, standing up from her chair as she grabs her back, making her way out of her office with the two of them tailing her behind.

‘If you can’t help us, at least help Baekhyun. Talk to the parents of the kids bullying him so we can get to the bottom of-’

‘I’ll be doing my job without the need to be ordered around, thank you very much Mr Kim’, the principal interrupts Jongdae before he can even get a word out, locking her office and walking to the front entrance, ‘I will be deciding what to do with the situation and I suggest you talk some sense to Baekhyun’s parents and persuade them to attend the meetings’

Jongdae is about to dig his sharp nails into her neck when Minseok pulls him back, warning him not to start anything stupid, letting her leave as they stay behind at the front of the school building, feeling lost. They couldn’t afford for Baekhyun to be bullied added onto the rising negligence his parents are becoming. It’s a recipe for disaster and they know it.

But as if the almighty is on their side, a miracle happens.

* * *

‘Everyone, say hello to our new student, _Oh Sehun’_, the teacher smiles, welcoming the little kid, short and skinny, his hair long and falling on his shoulders, his backpack bigger than him. He’s shy, eyes looking down on the floor, his hand gripping tightly onto his bag strap.

He sees the classroom and seeing everyone wave and smile at him. He waves back awkwardly, hiding behind the teacher’s legs.

‘Aw, don’t be shy’, the teacher urges him on, smiling as she kneels to face him, combing his hair back and giving him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders, ‘They’re all friendly, so don’t be afraid’

Sehun nods, but he still feels nervous. He didn’t want to move from his town to the big city, he loved the green fields and the open meadows to which he would run around after school with his friends. He doesn’t like the smell of smoke or the blaring horns from the traffic in front of his home or the dozens of kids his age staring at him as he walks to the back of the room where there’s a table with spare chairs.

He sets his heavy bag down on the floor as he tucks himself in, his arm leaning on the table and trying to look calm when inside he just wants to cry and go back to his mum.

‘Hello’

He turns to find someone waving at him, smiling widely with his front teeth missing.

‘Hello’, he whispers, his voice squeaky and nervous, but the by next to him smiles even more as he reaches his hand out to try and shake his hand.

‘My name is Baekhyun’, he introduces himself.

‘Sehun’, the boy says to which Baekhyun giggles, reminding him that the teacher has already said his name in front of the whole class no more than five minutes ago.

‘Let’s be friends, Sehun’, he says to which Sehun relaxes, finally gaining the courage to smile back at the little boy sitting on his own at the back.

‘Yeah… Let’s be friends’

* * *

‘Who’s this?’, Minseok smiles when Baekhyun approaches him after school with someone else by his side. He smiles and hugs Baekhyun before turning to the little boy next to him.

‘His name is Sehun! He’s new and he’s my friend!’, Baekhyun brightly introduced the little boy to which the boy shyly smiles at Minseok and reaches his hand out to shake the angel.

‘Oh, aren’t you adorable’, Minseok giggles, shaking the little boy’s hands, ‘I’m Minseok, Baekhyun’s Uncle. You can call me Uncle too if you want’

He sees Sehun nodding before he hears a voice calling out the boy’s name to which the latter immediately grins, running towards the woman with open arms.

‘Sehun! My boy, how was the first day of school?’, Minseok turns to see the woman – presumably the little boy’s mother – hugging him tightly as she kisses the top of his head, smiling when Sehun excitedly told her the new friend he’s made. Sehun points in the direction of where Minseok and Baekhyun are standing, the woman waving at them as they approach her.

‘Hello’, Minseok introduces himself, smiling at the beautiful woman standing in front of him. He can feel the immense love she has, exuding and pouring onto her child. He looks down at Sehun, seeing how he clings to his mother, feeling relieved that this child is receiving all the love in the world, ‘My name’s Minseok and this is Baekhyun’

‘Hello’, she greets back, ‘Thank you so much for taking care of my son’

‘No problem! I’m always told to be friends with everybody!’, Baekhyun smiles, his front teeth slowly growing back. He makes both Minseok and Sehun’s mother laugh, finding his enthusiasm adorable, the angel wishing that it won’t disappear as he slowly grows up.

‘You must be his father’, she says, ‘You and your wife must be proud of him’

‘Actually, I’m-’

‘Angel, what’s taking you so long?’, he hears Jongdae’s voice interrupted him as the demon walks to where they are, ‘I’ve been waiting in the car for fifteen minutes already’

‘Oh’, Sehun’s mum looks at Jongdae as the way he stands beside Minseok, looking down to see Baekhyun smiling and hugging him too, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I must’ve misunderstood’, she bows in apology, ‘I didn’t mean to…’

‘To what?’, Jongdae asks, turning to face the woman apologising to them for unknown reasons to him. ‘Who’re you?’

‘I’m Sehun’s mother’, she says, ‘You must be Baekhyun’s other dad’

‘Other dad?’, he asks, turning back to stare at Minseok with a questioning look, ‘What other dad?’

‘I have no idea’, Minseok replies to him to which Sehun’s mother smiles at them brightly as if she’s trying to compensate for her earlier presumption, ‘Well, we should get going. It was nice meeting you’, he says to her, giving her a smile before walking with Jongdae towards his car, Baekhyun waving at Sehun being skipping towards them, tugging at Jongdae’s jeans and telling him about his day at school.

‘Does Baekhyun have two dads?’, Sehun asks, looking up at his mum to which she smiles, kneeling to face Sehun.

‘Yes, he does, but that’s okay’, she informs him, combing his hair back, ‘His dads are nice people and you shouldn’t judge him just because he has a different family to yours, okay?’

‘Okay’

* * *

_Present Day, 2019._

Jongdae walks in his apartment, throwing his keys on the table as he walks to the fridge, in need to indulge in the bitter taste of alcohol after having an all-day meeting in hell with the rest of the demons in preparations for Doomsday which is coming very soon.

He feels tired, his muscles aching after arguing with the other demons wanting to start the Armageddon right now. Jongdae has persuaded them to give it a couple of months, bringing up the idea to present the antichrist to his demon hound which Satan has promised he would gift his son when the time is right, causing havoc.

In hindsight, that’s probably not a good idea since Baekhyun loves puppies, so he’d probably jump at the thought of owning his hound, but Jongdae took a good look at the demon hound and Baekhyun will probably cry of fright at the sight of it. He smiles at the thought of Baekhyun owning his dog and sparked a mental note to ask Minseok if it’s a good idea to gift Baekhyun his puppy for his thirteenth birthday.

‘Hey, how’s the meeting?’, over the years of raising Baekhyun together, Jongdae has found it hard to keep meeting up with the angel in his bookshop on the other side of the city, so after endless midnight talks and habits forming with one another, Jongdae had found it in himself to pass on spare keys to his apartment to the angel. He finds Minseok sitting in his living room, reading a book as he turns his chair to face him on the corridor, ‘When’s the big day?’

‘On his birthday’, Jongdae sighs, ‘They’re planning to present to him his hell hound’

‘Oh heavens…’, Minseok gasps, standing up and placing the book down on the table, ‘Do you think Baekhyun will accept him? He loves dogs’

‘Yeah, but this hell hound is terrifying’, Jongdae reassures him, ‘Plus, he does what he’s told and his dad keeps on saying no pets allowed in her home. He hasn’t had his rebellion phase yet, so I’m kinda hoping he’d reject the hound when he presents himself’

‘I hope so’, Minseok whispers. They’ve done all they could to raise Baekhyun to the best of their abilities, often becoming the parents Baekhyun doesn’t have since his home is empty or full of angry voices in the middle of the night to which Baekhyun calls up their phone to which they spend the whole night on the phone comforting the poor boy until he falls asleep.

‘It’s going to be fine. Baekhyun is a good boy’, Jongdae says, sitting down beside Minseok, ‘He won’t be starting the Armageddon. I’m sure of it’

‘Yeah, Baekhyun wouldn’t hurt a fly’, Minseok nods, also having confidence that they’ve achieved the unachievable.

‘Well, since we’re at least 87% sure that the apocalypse won’t be happening, why don’t we celebrate?’

‘Celebrate? How so?’

‘Didn’t you used to love going to the small crepe shop in Paris back in the day?’, Jongdae says as he walks to his bedroom, looking at the glass case to where his wings are enclosed, clicking his fingers and unlocking the glass door. Minseok follows him and sees the black wings reattaching itself on Jongdae’s back, his eyebrow raised.

‘The shop is still open?’

‘And family-owned’, Jongdae smiles, remembering that he passed it a couple of weeks ago when he had a meeting with a demon in Paris, smiling to himself at the memory of bailing Minseok out from prison and settling to eat some crepes as they watch the French revolution unfold right outside the shop, ‘Let’s go and enjoy our success’

Minseok didn’t think he has the power to dismiss Jongdae’s offer, agreeing as he flutters his pure white wings open, the demon smirking as he witnesses Minseok’s competitive in his expression.

‘Race you to Paris?’

‘Loser gets to pay’

‘Oh, you’re on!’

* * *

Baekhyun stays to himself, walking home alone after school. His teacher has warned him if his parents miss another parents’ evening, they would call the children’s wellbeing office. He doesn’t know what that means, but he probably concluded that it was a bad thing, especially after his teacher gave him a worried look.

He’s relieved that his parents didn’t come this evening. He wouldn’t know what to do if the whole school hears them arguing like they usually do when they’re stuck in the same room as each other. Baekhyun crosses the road on his own, feeling down from the embarrassment of waiting all evening in the school halls, sitting down and watching all his classmates with their mum and dads, talking with their teachers.

‘Hey! Baek!’

Just before he starts to cry, he feels someone pushing him, making him trip but a hand quickly grabs his backpack before that can even happen. He turns to see Sehun smiling at him, his hair long and falling on his shoulders, his backpack hanging from one shoulder. He gives Baekhyun a toothy grin, walking beside him.

‘What are you doing?’, Baekhyun asks, knowing well that Sehun lives on the other side of town, ‘Aren’t you supposed to go home with your mum?’, he asks, looking to his best friend who he’s grown up with since they were infants.

‘Mum says I can hang out at your place this evening. Uncle Minseok and Uncle Jongdae will probably be home, right?’, Sehun says, using the nickname Baekhyun uses for his godparents. The two figures have been part of his life more than his parents, yet he found that he prefers that. He can remember all the memories he’s made with them.

‘Maybe they’ll join us later for dinner’, Baekhyun says, taking out the new iPhone 11 his dad just bought him since he probably felt guilty leaving the broken vase on the floor after another heated argument to which Baekhyun accidentally stepped on the following morning, ‘Uncle Jongdae texted me saying they’re out for dinner’

‘Oh, that’s nice’, Sehun smiles, leaning his arm on Baekhyun shoulder, showing off that the once little Sehun is now outgrowing Baekhyun, ‘I’ve always liked Uncle Minseok’s cooking’

‘Me too’, Baekhyun smiles, ‘I’ll ask him to cook dinner for our birthday’

‘Yes!’, Sehun skips along, smiling as widely as he can as they cut through the park on their way back to Baekhyun’s house, chasing each other until Baekhyun finds himself laughing, breathless and forgotten the lonely feeling of being by himself. When he has Sehun by his side, he doesn’t feel pitiful anymore.

‘We should go laser tagging on our birthday’, Sehun suggests, jumping on the park bench and looking down at Baekhyun. The latter has always loved to discuss their birthdays with each other, finding it amazing that he gets to share his birthday with his best friend. They’ve been celebrating it together ever since they both found out they were born on the same day.

‘We should just chill in my backyard. My dad can order a bouncy castle’, Baekhyun suggests to which Sehun gasps, clapping his hands and jumping off the park bench.

‘That’s an amazing idea!’, he screams, playfully pushing Baekhyun as they continue to walk home, being hyper and loud as he usually is whenever he’s with Baekhyun. And just like his usual clumsy self, he runs too fast, unaware of his untied laces which he steps on. Sehun leads out a huge shout as he trips over, landing on something – or someone rather.5

‘Ow!’, Sehun falls on top of someone, Baekhyun laughing at his clumsiness.

‘Sorry about my friend’, Baekhyun calls out, reaching his hand out for Sehun to hold as he helps him up. They both look down, wondering who was the person Sehun fell on. The two best friend pears down and like fate, they lay their eyes on a boy their age, his hair curly and ruffled, his cheeks chubby and eyes round as it hides behind his glasses. He has on a school uniform, but a navy blue rather than a maroon like theirs. He probably goes to the other school on the other side of town.

‘It’s okay’, the boy murmurs, shy as he takes a step back from the two boys, his uniform slightly bigger on him as his fingers barely peaked out of his sleeves, ‘Sorry for being in the way’

‘You don’t have to be’, Sehun smiles, ‘It was my fault’

‘What’s your name anyway?’, Baekhyun asks, noticing how cute the boy looked when he smiled at them.

‘Chanyeol Park’

* * *

‘Wow, I haven’t had these in centuries’, Minseok whines as he takes a bite into the crepe, the pair sitting outside of the small café, soaking in the sun as they allow the world to pass them by. Jongdae looks over to the angel, chuckling to himself when he noticed that Minseok’s characteristics haven’t changed.

‘I knew you’d like it here’, Jongdae mentions, and it was as if everything that had happened between them felt normal – which shouldn’t, since for the past decade or so, they have helped raise the antichrist – but for Jongdae, it felt like a daily occurrence in his life, embedding itself in his routine, to the point that he found nothing about it weird anymore.

The years that have passed them by have been filled with Jongdae and Minseok staying up all night whilst they listen to little Baekhyun’s cries, cradling him in their arms, their eyes drooping and head swaying from the lack of sleep. Their recent memories are suddenly filled with them together, walking side by side at the park, laughing as they watch Baekhyun chase pigeons, drinking wine after a packed day of driving Baekhyun to his first football lessons, talking about their encounters with other parents giving them the side-eye.

‘You know, I was starting to get used to your tattoos’, Minseok randomly pointed out, noticing Jongdae’s clear arms, where his black inks used to be splurged all over. He noticed immediately when Jongdae came to Baekhyun’s school play, the demon’s sleeves rolled up and showing no signs of the art he had splashed all over himself. The angel had questioned it, whispering to Jongdae whilst they sat in the audience, yet the demon shrugs it off, ‘I always wondered why you got rid of it’

‘I heard a lot of parents whispering behind my back’, Jongdae shrugs as he drinks his coffee, ‘They said I looked like a thug’

‘And why do you care what humans think?’, Minseok chuckles.

‘I was scared Baekhyun might hear it’, Jongdae admits, ‘Humans are so mean, they talk about his parents right in front of him, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they mention me as well’, the angel never thought this would be the answer that Jongdae would give, Minseok pausing his meal as he makes eye contact with Jongdae. He never questions Jongdae’s actions over Baekhyun, concluding that the demon’s actions were meticulous due to his desperation to end Doomsday, but the awkward coughing and the way Jongdae refuses to meet his eye says something else.

‘You care for Baekhyun too, don’t you?’, Minseok asks, a smile growing when Jongdae coughs again, looking out to watch the passing humans, riding their bikes, huddled in groups and laughing. Just being humans. ‘Don’t worry, I care for him too’, Minseok also admits but he doesn’t have to, Jongdae knows the angel has fallen for the boy when he was just a baby. Jongdae says nothing more, not wanting to show his emotions to the angel who’s already busy soaking up this moment as he leans back and crosses his arms, looking smugly.

‘So, the demon does have feelings’

‘Of course, I do’, Jongdae spits out, rolling his eyes, ‘I was once an angel, you know’

‘You always use that excuse’, Minseok points out, ‘But that doesn’t change the fact that you followed Satan to hell’

‘It wasn’t my fault!’, Jongdae argues back, ‘I was hanging out with the wrong crowd, that’s all’

‘You joined a cult, Jongdae’, Minseok says to which Jongdae shivers. He doesn’t usually like talking about the past, mostly because he’s embarrassed. Minseok still thinks little of him since he was one of the first few angels to take Satan’s side.

‘He had a point at first’, Jongdae admits, ‘I didn’t like the Almighty’s way of things. She had favouritism issue’

‘She could do whatever she wants. She created us’

‘But she gave us the conscience mind of our own. Which means she gave us free will to choose how we wanna be governed. And… Well, at first Satan made sense. He wanted to protest against it and I thought… Well, I thought peaceful protesting would make her rethink. I didn’t think he’d actually… Well, start a fucking war’

‘He’s always been a radical’, Minseok admits, despite not having many memories of the fallen angel, he’s heard quite a few stories about him. Who wouldn’t? He was the best of the best, the Almighty’s favourite and the most good-looking, ‘Is he still good looking?’, the angel began to be curious, which he shouldn’t be, but maybe a few millenniums in hell but have at least ruined his skin.

‘Yeah, unfortunately, the Almighty created him so that he would be beautiful forever’, Jongdae sighs, drinking the last of his coffee, ‘Too bad she didn’t do that for all the angels. Some of them look like fucking trolls’, Jongdae laughs, ‘You should see Beelzebub nowadays’, he points out.

‘Why? Has he changed?’

‘His skins melted off and his nails have gone green’

‘That’s gross’, Minseok squirms, Jongdae scrunching his face and mimicking Beelzebub’s face, making the angel laugh, the two beings spending their afternoon in each other’s presence, not at all caring of the fact that they should be mortal enemies preparing for the battle of the Armageddon.


	5. The Armageddon Begins.

_Chapter Four; The Armageddon Begins._

Baekhyun has hit puberty. And Jongdae can’t stop laughing.

‘It’s not funny Uncle’, Baekhyun shouts as his squeaky voice would turn deep unexpectedly, the demon almost choking on his drink. Minseok himself couldn’t help but stifle a laugh when he hears Baekhyun speak nowadays, putting away the new stocks of books he purchased for his bookshop.

Baekhyun has been making his rounds of visits in Minseok’s bookshop when the angel walked into his house one afternoon to hear Baekhyun’s father speaking with a woman that wasn’t his mother and it didn’t take long for the angel to realise what was happening when he saw two shadows dancing together inside Baekhyun’s parent’s room. Since then, he offered Baekhyun to hang out with him at the bookshop after school and the young boy said yes immediately.

‘You sound so funny’, Jongdae continues to make fun of him, adjusting to Baekhyun’s daily routine visits in the bookshops, sitting down next to the latter, kicking his feet up and resting it on the coffee table despite Minseok’s warnings.

‘Stop! I don’t sound funny’, Baekhyun squeaked to which Jongdae ruffles his hair. The little boy follows Jongdae, kicking his feet up and setting them down on the coffee table to which Minseok looks and glares at both of them.

‘See what you’re doing?’, Minseok slaps Jongdae’s head, ‘You’re setting a bad example for Baekhyun’, the demon continues to laugh, being in a good mood as he takes his leg off the table, followed by Baekhyun, ‘Baekhyun, shouldn’t you be studying for your exam?’

‘Sehun says he wants to study tomorrow in the library after school’, Baekhyun says, ‘He wants to go over some early chapters first’

‘Isn’t Sehun a nice kid’, Minseok smiles, finishing organising his shelves, joining the two boys at the seating area, ‘He’s so smart’

‘No, he’s not’, Baekhyun snorts, ‘His mum says if he passes, she’ll buy him an Xbox’

‘Well, tell Mrs Oh she’s doing a brilliant parenting’, Jongdae chuckles, leaning on Minseok’s shoulders as the angel joins to sit with them.

‘When school’s over, Sehun says his parents are taking them to a summer trip in Scotland. He says his dad wanted him to go camping and enjoy nature’

‘That’s a brilliant idea’, Minseok grins, ‘Being cooped up in the city is bad for you boys. You should enjoy what Earth has to offer; it is made specifically for you’

‘Stop sounding so spiritual’, Jongdae chuckles, ‘They’re kids, they should spend their summer playing video games’

‘You know how violent that can be’, Minseok points out, elbowing Jongdae, ‘It won’t be good for Baekhyun’

‘It’s not just a video game’, Jongdae argues back, ‘He’s not going to start shooting people in real life’

‘You’d never know!’

‘You two are so funny’, Baekhyun laughs, standing up as he makes his way to the fridge, grabbing himself a cold orange juice, ‘Sehun says you’re like both my conscience’

‘You’re what?’

‘You know when you see in movies? Where I have a little angel on my right shoulder telling me to be good, but then I have a small demon on my other shoulder telling me to be bad?’, Baekhyun explains to which the pair immediately froze, pretending to laugh at the absurd idea.

‘Angels don’t exist’, Jongdae points out, ‘Nor do demons’

‘I know, but still. He says you sound like that’, Baekhyun replies, sitting back down. Minseok is about to change the subject before he ends up saying something he shouldn’t, when he hears a small bell ringing, the door swinging open and informing him of a customer. The three of them turn to see who it was and immediately, Baekhyun stands up, his ears burning red.

‘Hey, Sehun told me you’d be here’

‘Who’s that?’, Jongdae whispers when he sees a boy – the same age as Baekhyun – walking towards them, shyly waving.

‘Chanyeol… What’re you doing here?’, Baekhyun asks as he puts his juice down, leaving Minseok and Jongdae to walk over to the boy.

‘Apparently, his name’s Chanyeol’, Minseok whispers back, just as curious as Jongdae. The two watch like spies, turning their backs, observant eyes on the boy standing in front of Baekhyun.

‘Sehun says I should visit your godparents’ bookshop. He says it looks straight out of a Disney movie’, Chanyeol points out, looking around the library, albeit small and cosy, it did have an elegance in it that looked like it was from the Victorian era, a small place trapped in time.

‘Yeah, well, welcome’, Baekhyun awkwardly laughs, ‘What do you think?’

‘I think it looks amazing’, Chanyeol smiles, ‘It would be lovely to get my mum something here for her birthday. She loves to read’

‘Oh, does she?’, Baekhyun smiles.

‘Yeah, she does. She’s a nurse but she says she’s always wanted to be a writer instead’

‘Oh, that’s nice’

‘Yeah, she’s forcing me to read a lot of these days’

‘Oh, that’s great’

‘Why does Baekhyun sound like a broken record?’, Jongdae asks Minseok, the pair still watching their interactions, Jongdae’s brows furrowed in confusion whilst Minseok had a huge grin on his face.

‘He has a crush’, Minseok whispers back, a growing excitement in the pit of his stomach as he watches Baekhyun play with his hands, looking down and around whilst he kicks at the floor, all actions of a boy flustered because of his crush, ‘He has a crush on the kid’

‘What?!’, Jongdae shouts immediately as he stands up, straightening his shirt as he marches over to the kid, blocking his view from Baekhyun, ‘Who are you?’

‘Uncle, stop-’

‘I’m Jongdae, Baekhyun’s fath-’

‘Godfather!’, Minseok shouts, standing up and quickly joining them, pulling Jongdae pack, ‘We’re Baekhyun’s godparents’

‘Ah, well… It’s nice to meet you’, Chanyeol smiles at them, bowing ‘I’m Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s friend’

‘And how did the two of you meet?’, Jongdae asks, his arms folded as he begins to interrogate the boy.

‘Uh… Sehun tripped on me’, Chanyeol explains, ‘And Baekhyun offered to get ice cream as an apology’

‘We’ve been hanging out during the weekend ever since’, Baekhyun says, tugging at Jongdae’s sleeves and pulling him away, embarrassed at his sudden earnestness to question Chanyeol.

‘Oh, and how comes we haven’t been introduced yet?’, Jongdae asks, ‘If you’ve been hanging out more than once’

‘I’m sure Baekhyun doesn’t need to tell us all the people he’s been hanging out with’, Minseok also pulls back Jongdae.

‘Actually, I was hoping to invite him to my birthday get together’, Baekhyun says, turning to Chanyeol and blushing, ‘I mean… If you want…’

‘I would love to’, Chanyeol grins, ‘When it is’

‘Next week Sunday’

‘Wait, are you serious?’, Chanyeol’s mouth hangs open, ‘That’s my birthday too!’

‘Are you serious?’, Baekhyun smiles, ‘Sehun shares the same birthday as well’

‘No way!’

‘Yeah, yeah, you share the same birthday. That doesn’t mean anything’, Jongdae bursts their bubble, walking off and slumping down on his chair as he listens to Baekhyun laughing at Chanyeol’s jokes.

* * *

‘I think this is great’, Minseok points out as they walk in Jongdae’s apartment, the demon throwing his keys on the table, ‘This means that he’s integrating well, he’s feeling love and his instincts have changed from killing to feeling’

The angel takes off his coat, hanging it in the coat hanger whilst he joins Jongdae in the kitchen, watching the demon huff and puff to himself, sensing his discomfort, ‘Don’t you think it’s a good idea for the antichrist to find his love?’

‘He’s thirteen, Minseok’, Jongdae points out, ‘His voice is still squeaking, don’t you think he’s still young to be in a relationship?!’

‘Who says anything about a relationship?’, Minseok snorts, ‘He has a little school crush on another boy, that’s perfectly normal. Boys get crushes around his age, that doesn’t mean he’s getting married or anything’

The demon is still not convinced and Minseok can tell, seeing him looking down on the floor and pouting. He can only lean on the kitchen island and laugh at him, ‘He’s still going to be Baekhyun’, Minseok assures him, ‘He’s still our antichrist’

‘That’s not why I’m angry’, Jongdae coughs, ‘Falling in love always results in something bad, I’ve observed humans enough to know that’

‘You’ve been observing in the wrong place’, Minseok says, ‘Love is the most exhilarating thing to feel’

‘I doubt it’, the demon argues, ‘We can’t let anything happen. We have to make sure not to trigger the Armageddon’

‘Baekhyun’s grown up so well’, Minseok assures him, walking over to massage the demon’s shoulders, comforting him ‘We did a good job. _You _did a good job’, the angel continues to massage his shoulders, Jongdae leaning his head back to rest it on Minseok’s chest, the pair staying in comfortable silence.

‘You know, it’s been a while since you slept in your own apartment’

‘Six years to be precise’, Minseok laughs, also noticing that he’s taken a liking in staying at Jongdae’s place ever since they started taking care of Baekhyun together.

‘You’ve made a mess in my guest bedroom’

‘Where else am I going to sleep then?’

‘I have a king’s bed, you know’

‘Yeah, because sleeping next to a demon is something I fantasise’, Minseok begins to laugh, he walks away, heading towards the kitchen to fix himself a snack, not needing to be told where the cutleries are, or which drawers held the plates. Minseok has cooked too many times in the demon’s apartment that the latter would find his drawers reshuffled and reordered to fit Minseok’s taste, finding new plates added onto his pile.

‘I’m just saying, clean your room’, Jongdae calls out, coughing awkwardly as he leans back on his chair.

‘Well, if the Armageddon is cancelled, I wouldn’t feel the need to stay here anymore’, Minseok calls out, pouring hot water on his cup of tea as he leans on the kitchen counter, ‘Baekhyun won’t need us to be breathing down his neck either’

‘You’re going to abandon Baekhyun once the Armageddon gets called off?’, Jongdae asks, surprise hinted in his voice as he turns to look at the angel. It’s unspoken, yet they didn’t need to blatantly tell each other that the past couple of years have been less about trying to save the world but more about trying to save Baekhyun, to keep him safe and loved when his parents couldn’t. Minseok didn’t need Jongdae’s stubborn confession to know that, especially when he spent the past hour persuading the demon not to kill the poor boy Baekhyun’s been crushing on.

‘What else is there for us to do?’, Minseok asks, walking back as he sits down with his cup of tea, ‘We can’t use your magic forever. It’ll wear off and his parents will realise we weren’t their college friends’

‘I can keep doing it’, Jongdae points out, ‘I’m powerful enough to do it’

‘Yeah, but would it be fair?’, Minseok asks, leaning back, ‘I’ve been thinking about it, and I think it’ll cause more problems if we stay in Baekhyun’s life after the Armageddon’

‘Why?’, the demon asks, pressing on and trying to make sense of Minseok’s sudden change of heart. He didn’t think the angel, out of everyone, would be the one to take a step back and abandon Baekhyun as soon as their mission ended, ‘We’ve all Baekhyun’s got’

‘That’s not true’, Minseok shakes his head, ‘He’s got a wonderful best friend, albeit weird and sometimes creepy, Sehun is a good influence on him’

‘He once tore off wings out of dragonflies’

‘They were kids’, Minseok rolls his eyes, ‘Kids tend to do that’

‘He set his childhood dog on fire instead of burying it’

‘They got it cremated, you idiot’, Minseok rolls his eyes, ‘Sehun said he didn’t want Ruffles buried in the dirt, because he likes running around. There’s something sweet about that idea’

‘I don’t know’, Jongdae shrugs, but he couldn’t have a solid argument. Sehun indeed showed off a tendency of weirdness once in a while, but then again, Jongdae liked the kid, he liked Sehun’s family who was all the more accepting and brighter, ready to open Baekhyun into the family as if he was their own.

‘Plus, he has that new boy he’s been crushing over’, Minseok points out, knowing that would annoy Jongdae but saying it anyway, chuckling when he sees Jongdae’s brow furrow.

‘Whatever’, Jongdae shrugs, ending the conversation and standing up, ‘I’m still going to keep in touch with the kid, even after Dooms Day’, Minseok watches the grumpy demon walking out of the living room, probably calling it a night as he hears the slam of his bedroom door. The angel sighs, his smile slowly disappearing as he looks down on his half-empty cup, seeing the tea leaves the setting at the bottom, his eyes looking over. He didn’t want to burden Jongdae, but he’s also saddened at the thought of leaving Baekhyun. After raising him for over a decade, of course, the angel’s going to fall in love with the kid. He wanted nothing more than to have Baekhyun for the rest of the human’s life. But what they’ve done is already far too risky, an act that can get both of them into deep trouble if their headquarters found out. Once the Armageddon is called off, of course, the first thing that would happen is an investigation, their divisions looking for a reason why Satan’s son did not wish to follow his father’s orders. In time, Jongdae will be forced to erase the memories they shared with the boy, to wipe everything clean for everyone’s safety. In time, he’d have to tell this to Jongdae, who’s anticipating to be part of the rest of Baekhyun’s life.

The angel stands up, leaving his cup behind as he opens the large windows, flailing his wings high behind him, leaving the demon’s apartment and ascending high up in the air, like a shadow dancing in the night, looking over the city lines.

* * *

_6th June 2019_

Minseok and Jongdae lean on the brick wall of the garden, looking out to see a crowd of pre-pubescent kids running around playing football. The garden is small since they belonged to the Oh family, a humble and respectful family who recently moved back to London after spending a few years raising their little boy in a small and quiet town outside of London.

Of course, like idiots, the demon and angel paid no mind to the stories Mr and Mrs Oh would tell them during the party. They nod as they sip their drinks whilst Mr Oh described the absurdity of his wife’s early pregnancy, her water breaking a week early.

What’s even worse, is Jongdae’s lack of awareness, choosing to hover over the food stall, picking little delicacies and devouring them, not noticing the mother and son walking into the garden from the back door, a tall young man with big ears waving to Baekhyun and Sehun, running up to them.

‘Hello’, Mrs Oh finally introduced herself to her son’s new friend’s mother, reaching her hand out and shaking it, ‘I’m Sehun’s mother’

‘Hello, I’m Chanyeol’s mother’, the woman smiles. She’s aged slightly, something that would occur to humans, especially having to raise a little boy on her own.

‘And what’s your name?’

‘Sarah Jane’

The elephant in the room, of course, is that she’s White, not something to look too intense at, if it wasn’t for the fact that her son, Chanyeol, is Korean, with a Korean surname.

‘And is your husband here?’

‘Ah, no’, Sara Jane shakes her head, ‘He’s… Sort of out of the picture’

‘Oh, I see’, Mrs Oh nods, ‘I’m sorry I asked’

‘Don’t be. We’re happy as we are’, Sarah Jane smiles, looking over to the little boy she had decided to raise on her own after setting eyes on him when he was a baby, a wave of guilt looming over her as he takes him away from his loving family.

‘Ow!’, Minseok whines when he feels something hitting him, looking behind to see the football the boys’ were playing being kicked in his direction, hitting his leg which made him falter for a moment, spilling his drink.

‘Sorry!’, Sehun shouts, laughing as he grabs the ball and throws it back to the game. If it was another boy, Minseok would probably scold him, yet he somehow has a soft spot for Sehun ever since the little boy became friends with Baekhyun, once shy and awkward, now confident and bright.

‘I hate kids’, Jongdae whispers as soon as the angel walks back to him, rolling his eyes when he hears the other kids screaming and making a mess out of the garden, ‘They’re thirteen years old yet they act like toddlers’

‘Boys have slower maturity growth’, Minseok informs him, downing his drink in one go. Of course, usually, the two beings would pass out on parties as hectic like this, but Mrs Oh requested their help with the food and it’s no secret that Minseok’s cooking is to die for – literally – so here they are, in charge of the food and drinks. But then again, they should be here since today’s the day that’s going to change the course of history.

Yes, the very existence of life as we know it, will be changed at a kid’s thirteenth birthday party.

Jongdae stayed up laughing all night at the thought.

‘I think sending a big hellhound might not be a good idea’, Minseok whispers as he looks at the time, the afternoon peeking into the evening, seeing the clock tick as the day goes by.

‘Only the antichrist will see it first’, Jongdae informs Minseok as he passes another plate of cake to a parent, ‘If he accepts it, the hound will form into his current mindset and will materialise’

‘So… Say if Baekhyun was angry when he first sets his eyes on the hellhound, then-’

‘The hellhound will take a vicious form’

‘And what if he’s feeling happy?’

‘Well, that’s not something we prepared for’, Jongdae says, ‘We don’t know if he’ll still be vicious. It depends what he’s happy about I guess’

‘Right’, the angel nods, serving punch to another parent who approaches them, smiling fondly at the two.

‘I’m so glad you two came’, the parent points out, stopping their conversation as they look ahead to her, ‘You two are so brave’

‘Brave?’, Minseok asks, slightly confused as to why the mother was talking to them as if they’ve just survived a terminal illness.

‘You know, it doesn’t matter what the other parents say’, she whispers, leaning in closer to them, ‘You’re both amazing parent figures to Baekhyun’

‘And what have the other parents been saying?’, Jongdae asks, just as confused as the angel beside him.

‘Nothing you need to worry about’, she says in her most comforting voice – which sounds more patronising – reaching her hand and stroking Jongdae’s arm, ‘You two just carry on loving each other’

‘What the fuck is that all about?’, Jongdae whispers to Minseok as they watch the woman walk back to her group of friends with her drink.

‘Humans… They never cease to surprise me’, Minseok whispers back, not having an answer for the weird interaction.

* * *

_It’s time. It’s time. It’s time. It’s time. It’s time. It’s time._

The chanting continues, murmurs and groans as hell begin to rise, the scorching fire heightening when the demons walk forward to a cave, gated with the strongest bars.

‘It’s time’, Beelzebub groans, his gangrene fingers taking out the locks which they’ve kept for the past thirteen years, waiting for the day to come. He hears the cheers of the demons behind him, clapping, cheering, causing a commotion as he inserts the key, a rusted creak sound echoing as the doors finally opens, the darkness being welcomed.

‘It’s time!’, the demon shouts again, hearing the growls from the depths of the cave, the scratches of claws as they hear the hell hound running towards the light, growling as it nears.

‘The Armageddon has begun!’

* * *

‘Are you tired?’, Baekhyun asks as he sees Sehun sitting on the grass, breathing heavily after the game’s end. Sehun nods, leaning his back on the cold grass and looking up at the blue skies. The day has been nothing but fun memories for him, from the morning when he sees Baekhyun running up to him, the two friends sharing a hug as they decorate his house with decorations they bought from Asda.

Sehun’s made friends with everyone in his school, and even though Baekhyun’s bright and just as funny, Sehun didn’t have the troubles of coming from a complicated family to hold him off from making friends. Everything about his life is normal that he couldn’t even think of a time he’s experienced something uncomfortable. Sure, he’s heard his parents fight before, and sometimes he would cry when he listens to the shouting in the kitchen, but he would wake up in the morning to see his parents cuddling together, sharing their morning tea like they usually do after apologising to each other. They would often pull Sehun and bring them into their hugs, to which Sehun protests at first, but hug them back.

His party isn’t even his idea, it was his dad who felt bad for moving them from their small town into London, being busy at work and not finding the time to play with Sehun as they used to when he was a kid. He didn’t want to miss out on Sehun’s childhood, so on his one weekend off from work, he decided to let Sehun have a party, running around and playing football with them whilst finally making the time to socialise with the other parents at his school, making his presence known as Sehun’s proud father.

‘Do you wanna sleepover tonight? My dad says he doesn’t mind’, Sehun offers when he sees Baekhyun laying beside him. The latter, of course, agrees, nodding his head and chuckling as the two stays silent for a moment, just staring at the skies and picturing the clouds as something else.

Sehun finds comfort in Baekhyun, from the moment they first met, till now. It’s as if he’s supposed to meet Baekhyun, to share these memories with him.

‘That looks like an elephant riding a motorbike’, Baekhyun points at the sky, seeing a big cloud above them to which Sehun laughs, sharing the same image in his mind once Baekhyun points it out.

‘What are you guys doing?’, Chanyeol joins them, the tall boy they just met a few months ago, but have been growing closer with the more they hang out after school. He lays down next to Baekhyun to which the latter blushes. The three boys lay down beside each other, just looking up at the skies, counting the clouds, making up stories.

The angel looks over and sees them, a smile on his face as he slowly helps Jongdae and everyone else packs up, finding a sense of comfort as seeing Baekhyun experiencing normal human interactions, hearing him laugh. He’ll be fine once it’s time for him and Jongdae to depart from his life. He knows he’ll have all the love in the world in the form of the two silly boys lying next to him.

The adults leave them in the garden whilst they retire in the kitchen and living room, talking about work and gossip whilst Jongdae whines at the thought of washing up all the dishes.

That’s when the hound appears.

Growling, red eyes and piercing sharp teeth as he searches for his master, acidic drooling running down its face, landing on the grass which then burns the leaves. The red demon eyes are scanning around, in hopes to approach his master.

‘What the hell is that noise?’, Baekhyun asks as he sits up, looking around to find the growling sound, but Chanyeol dismisses him, laughing as they continue to talk about the clouds.

‘Look, that looks like a white fluffy dog’, Sehun points with a huge grin, ‘I want that type of dog’

‘Ruffles was a Jack Russel’, Baekhyun reminds him of his first dog, a cute sweet thing who was always hyper and loved playing around in the mud.

‘It was given to my dad’, Sehun admits, ‘I would’ve loved to pick a poodle or maybe even a bichon, so I can keep it in my pocket!’

‘I don’t think Bichons are that small’, Chanyeol points out, laughing as he listens to Sehun obsess over puppies, ‘Is he always like that?’, he turns to Baekhyun to which the latter just laughs with him and nods.

The hellhound approaches his master, taking a form of his mindset, his eyes turning into coffee brown, his figure becoming smaller and smaller. His teeth turn blunt and his skin grows out white fur.

‘Woof!’

‘What the…’

The three boys turn to the noise, looking around until they see a small dog, barking at them, his white fur dirtied from the mud around them.

‘I told you I heard something!’, Baekhyun points out as soon as they see the cute fluffy dog approaching them, barking loudly and immediately resting himself on Sehun’s lap.

‘He’s so cute!’, Sehun squeaks, hugging the dog who immediately chose to sit on him, ruffling his ears and seeing his bright eyes, like marbles, looking at him, ‘Mum! Dad! Look what we found!’

Sehun immediately stands up, hugging the puppy in his arms as he raced into the kitchen, shouting in excitement as he showed the little puppy to his mum.

‘He loves dogs, doesn’t he?’, Chanyeol giggles, sitting up and staying on the grass as he looks into the window, seeing Sehun begging for his mum to keep the dog who just randomly approached them.

‘I want a dog too, but I don’t think my parents will let me… I know my parents won’t let me’, Baekhyun whispers the last part, but Chanyeol heard it and he gives Baekhyun a reassuring smile.

‘Don’t worry. Once I persuaded my mum to get us a dog, I’ll share it with you’, he offers and Baekhyun blushes again, something he keeps on doing whenever he’s with Chanyeol, nodding as he edges closer, sitting beside Chanyeol, just the two of them alone in the garden.

‘What the hell are the two of them doing?’, Jongdae asks as he wipes his hands, looking out of the window and seeing Baekhyun laughing with Chanyeol, too distracted to notice the dog in Sehun’s arms growling when he walked past him. Jongdae nudges Minseok, pointing at the window to which the angel squirms in excitement rather than anger, clapping his hands.

‘Don’t they look cute?’, Minseok points out, almost jumping up and down on the spot, cooing at the way Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, the way even his eyes smile whilst he listens to the boy talk, ‘How adorable’

‘Whatever’, the demon huffs, passing by Sehun and the dog without a second talk, finishing the dishes and turning back to the living room to where he finally lays eyes on a familiar woman standing in the middle of the living room. She’s wearing a dress and her hair is out, yet her face is familiar, yet aged, but something that triggered Jongdae to stop and approach her.

‘You’, he simply says, no introduction, no welcoming greeting, just one word to which drags her attention to him, her eyes looking up and her smile suddenly disappearing as she locks eyes with the demon, she hasn’t spoken to for the last thirteen years ago.

‘What are you doing here?’, she asks, her voice shaking as she almost spills her drink, ‘Are you hear to come after me?’

‘What? Why would I? I should be asking you why you’re here’, Jongdae whispers to her, looking around to check if Minseok is around, pulling at her arm as he drags the woman to an isolated placed, ‘Did they send you here?’, he asks again, now that they’re in a private area, out of earshot.

‘Are you crazy?! I’m trying to run away from them’, she points out, offended that the demon would accuse her of still being part of the cult, yet why should she? The reason why they know each other is because they know something the rest of the world didn’t, ‘I left the cult twelve years ago’

‘Twelve years ago?’

‘I wanted to raise my son properly’, she admits, ‘I didn’t want him to know about anything I did in my past’

‘Why the hell would you raise a son when you know when the world will be ending?!’, Jongdae shouts at her, having to bite his tongue and turn around to see if anyone had walked in on them.

‘I didn’t want to leave him in an orphanage! He deserves to have a good life, even if it’s short’

‘Orphanage? I’m confused’, Jongdae breathes in, trying not to bubble his anger over just in case it spills and he makes a mess of things.

‘I adopted him’

‘Adopted who?’

‘The son. Byun’s real son’, she whispers to which Jongdae immediately froze, his bones turning to ice as his red bright eyes glare down at her.

‘You were supposed to eradicate him!’

‘I’m not killing a baby’, she says, her arms crossed and voice turning stronger at the mention of her son, ‘He’s my son and I raised him well. He doesn’t know anything and he’ll continue to not know anything until the end of the world’

‘The end of the world’, Jongdae whispers, looking down on his feet and refusing to make eye contact for a moment. He had no reason to share such personal information to a stranger he hasn’t met in thirteen years, yet, her voice to which rose when she mentioned the son she adopted made him feel familiar, as if he’s heard himself speak the same defensive tone to others who dared questioned his presence in Baekhyun’s life. Maybe it was because of the empathy that got him to pull her closer, whispering in her ears.

‘The Armageddon is not going to happen’

‘What?!’

‘I’ve been keeping a close eye on the antichrist’, Jongdae informs her, skipping out the angel who also stayed by Baekhyun’s side along with him, ‘He’s not going to trigger Doomsday’

‘What?’, she gasps, looking at him with wide eyes.

‘I’ve observed him. He’s grown up well. He won’t trigger it’

‘How would you know? It’s in his destiny, surely being brought up differently won’t change it’

‘It will’, Jongdae presses on, ‘I know it will’

And just like that, his expectations are crumbled to the ground as he received a text, his phone vibrating in his pockets, informing him that the antichrist has accepted the hound and the Rapture will begin soon.

The demon looks down on his screen, his lips parting as he drops his phone, reading the words for the first time and feeling like the world is going to collapse any minute now. And ironically, it will, in about three weeks.

* * *

‘Who is she and why is she here?’, Minseok asks as soon as he walks into the demon’s apartment, seeing a beautiful human woman sitting on the sofa, her arms crossed and head hung low.

‘You had _one _job. _One!’, _Jongdae shouts at her when they slowly piece together the outcome after Jongdae raises to the garden to see Baekhyun still talking to Chanyeol, but with no signs of the hell hound beside him. He called up Beelzebub, asking for confirmation to which his fellow demon gave him, telling him that the hell hound should be able to show itself in front of humans now.

‘What is going on?’, the angel asks again, dropping his keys on the pot and walking beside Jongdae, ‘Why’re you shouting?’

‘I think I made a mistake…’

‘A mistake?!’, Jongdae shouts, ‘You were given the job to put the antichrist in its assigned cot! How could you fuck that up?’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’, the angel asks for god knows how many times, finally shaking the demon to pay attention to him.

‘Baekhyun’s not the antichrist’, the demon points out to which Minseok laughs at first, wondering why Jongdae would be joking around when the demon knows most of his jokes fall flat. But then again, it didn’t explain why a human female was sitting in his apartment, her eyes looking down as if to express guilt.

‘Are you being for real?’, the angel stops laughing after realising he’s the only one to find this amusing, and little by little, he stopped finding it funny too, ‘You’re telling the truth?’

‘It was her job to put the antichrist in his assigned family’, Jongdae points at the woman, ‘She fucked up’

‘Is that why she came here? To confess?’

‘No, by a freak of nature, she just happens to live in London and adopt the Byun’s biological son’

‘You have the human son?’, Minseok shouts, ‘But if Baekhyun’s not the antichrist, then surely, she must have the antichrist. She must have kept him to himself’

‘No! I didn’t!’, she defends herself, ‘I adopted the human child!’

‘We can’t have two human children’, Minseok calls out, seemingly becoming just as frustrated as Jongdae at the new turn of events that he couldn’t have predicted even with his powers and high intelligence, ‘One of us has the antichrist and it’s Baekhyun’

‘I think… I think they may have been a third family in the mix’, she confesses, the faint memory of the night still hidden somewhere in her memory. It’s been more than a decade, but she was sure some memories which decide to come up in her mind, where true – and if it was – then there must’ve been a last-minute family who joined the hospital that night, ‘There must’ve been a third family’

‘For fuck’s sake’, Jongdae hisses, kicking the bins and taking off his sunglasses, his fury red eyes glowing at her, ‘What are we going to do now?’

‘Well, we can seek out the antichrist… The real one… And see if he can still be saved’, Minseok starts to suggest, frantically thinking as he paces around the living room, ‘Clearly, he didn’t accept the hound so-’

‘He did’, Jongdae sighs, throwing his sunglasses on his sofa, massaging his forehead and feeling like all the years they’ve spent have been wasted, ‘I just got sent a text. The hound has found its owner’, the angel almost collapses, leaning on the kitchen island, his hand holding onto the cold marble table as he looks at the demon, his eyes read fear just as much as the angel did.

‘The Armageddon is happening?’

‘It’s already begun’

* * *

The Armageddon, of course, is sitting in his room wrapping a blanket around his new dog after his father hesitantly agreed to let Sehun adopt the dog. It was his birthday after all.

‘I’ going to call you Vivi’, Sehun smiles, stroking his fluffy ears and giggling when he sees the little puppy yawn, his small tongue sticking out, ‘You’re going to love it here’. The small puppy is the best birthday present he can ever ask for, to have a dog of his own. He had to listen to his father list his responsibilities, telling him he should be the one to feed, walk and bathe the dog, but Sehun didn’t mind – especially when Baekhyun offered to help. It’ll be fun thinking about walking Vivi in the park whilst playing football with Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

The boy gets ready for bed, changing to his pyjamas when Vivi leaps off from the bed after seeing a butterfly make its way into the boy’s room, its bright wings flying around the room. The dog’s eyes turn red, its small teeth turning sharp as it leaps up to catch the sign of life, to eradicate it like it’s been told to do.

‘No! Vivi, stop!’, just as the dog is about to jump and bite the butterfly’s wings off, it feels a pair of hands wrap around its body, lifting him. Its red eyes watch as the butterfly escapes through the open window, still living, ‘You’re not supposed to kill!’, Sehun calls out to Vivi, to which the hell hound looks up in confusion, ‘Bad dog!’

Vivi whines, not sure why his master is telling him not to kill, but as he was trained, he must follow his master’s rules, so he hangs his head down in repentance, whining his apologies to which Sehun strokes his ears again and smiles.

‘We need to teach you some manners, Vivi. We can’t have you harming a soul, got it?’

* * *

‘We’ve been raising the wrong kid’

‘Fuck’

‘Somewhere out there, is the real antichrist getting ready for the end of the world’, Minseok sighs as he sits on the edge of the rooftop, overlooking Paris, watching the lights of the Eiffel Tower dance to the sound of the music being played in the streets.

Minseok’s wings rest behind his back, translucent yet still sparked the same purity as it always has. He stares out into the city line of the romantic city, feeling a weight pressing to his chest as the realisation of the situation slowly sits in. They had spent precious time raising the wrong child. But did they regret it?

‘Baekhyun won’t grow up’, the angel says aloud, ‘He won’t grow to love, or get a job… He won’t live’

The worry for himself is almost worthless compared to his worry for Baekhyun. The next few years will be filled with pain and terror, the rise of the four horsemen bubbling their fated dread into the World, leaving nothing but destruction and not much space left to experience the beauty of life. Minseok can spend the rest of eternity in Heaven, a place of bliss, his fate is not the worse, but the fate of the humans? That’s still high up in the air as the Almighty and her son are still in the midst of discussion to what happens to them after Doomsday.

‘This whole this is fucking stupid’, Jongdae stands up, wiping his jeans as he steps into the air, walking as if his feet are on the ground. He turns to face Minseok, ‘Why is it, your boss would make humanity only to make it falter? Why would she do that?’

‘How am I supposed to know?’, Minseok asks, standing up, his eyes on the same level as the demon’s, ‘Why don’t you go ask the Almighty herself?’

‘Me? She refuses to acknowledge demons’ existence even though we once s_erved _her!’

‘You rebelled against her! Do you expect her to welcome you back with open arms?!’, the angel argues back, raising his voice as he glares at the demon, ‘I can’t explain the Almighty’s plans. It’s naff-’

‘Don’t you even dare finish that sentence’, Jongdae points an accusing finger at him, stepping back on the edges of the rooftop, so close to Minseok, they can feel each other’s breath, ‘Don’t defend her’

‘Why shouldn’t I? She’s my boss and the creator. There’s no reason to go against her’

‘No reason whatsoever?’, Jongdae whispers, looking at Minseok with his red eyes which don’t terrify the angel anymore, ‘Then what am I?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘We’ve been by each other’s side since the creation of this Earth. Our paths have passed so many times, yet… You would easily give in to a fate where you and I can never meet again?’

‘I don’t have a choice’, Minseok whispers, feeling Jongdae’s hot breath lay itself on his skin, ‘We’ve tried all we could’, the angel can feel Jongdae’s energy, as if the demon still has the power to reconnect with other angels, to trace each other’s emotions on top of each other, to feel, to love, to empathise.

‘We’re going to lose Baekhyun. And I’m going to lose you’, the demon whispers, ‘And I can’t let that happen’

With that being said, the demon jumps into the air, soaring through the clouds and departing from Minseok who is frozen in his place, looking into the horizon, watching Jongdae’s figure turn smaller until it disappears. He feels his cheeks turn hot and his chest pounding immensely. He didn’t want to lose Baekhyun. And after the infinite memories they shared, Minseok had to admit to himself that he didn’t want to lose Jongdae either.

* * *

_Flashback:_

Minseok walks in his bookshop with a big smile on his face as he places the box on one of the tables, opening it up quickly and lifting one of the books piled inside, wrapped in plastic, protecting the precious covers which had already been marked and scratched from the years. He’s bagged himself another dozen antique books he won in an auction and he couldn’t wait to add it to his list. He still had quite a few books to collect, but thankfully his bookshop is already decorated and piled with books all around the world, made from different eras.

‘You need to stop with this useless hobby’, the angel turns and to no one’s surprise, he sees Jongdae leaning on one of the shelves, taking off his glasses and showing the angel his red piercing eyes. Minseok ignores him, getting used to the way the demon makes fun out of his habits, a bickering habit made between the two of them for centuries now.

‘What brings you here’, Minseok asks, unwrapping the book in his hands and feeling the old leather. The angel walks over and slides the book the gaps of the shelf.

‘The Armageddon might be happening soon’, the demon reminds him, something that they’ve spoken of with passing but not delving into details. The almighty plan isn’t disclosed and dates haven’t been confirmed yet, so to them, it can happen in the next century or tomorrow and they wouldn’t know.

‘How soon?’, Minseok asks, turning to face Jongdae, noticing his expression which didn’t particularly scream worry, but he didn’t have his usual narcissistic smirk either, so the angel questioned the urgency of the matter.

‘I don’t know. But it’s inevitable, right?’, the demon shrug, sitting down on one of the leather chairs placed at the centre of the bookshop, ‘Sooner or later, we’ll face each other in the battlefield, representing opposing sides’

‘Well, I don’t think I’ll be in battle’, Minseok points out, ‘I’m not much of a fighter. If anything, I’ll be assigned as a Healer’

‘Well, aren’t you lucky’, Jongdae chuckles, yet there’s no humour in his tone, ‘You won’t have to see me rip your fellow angels into pieces before being sent back to hell to spend all eternity down there’

‘You chose to be on his side’, Minseok sighs, not knowing why the demon is suddenly bringing up such a morbid topic, ‘You chose your fate’

‘And I can choose another one’, Jongdae says, not facing Minseok when he says this, leaning his back on the chair and lifting his foot on the coffee table, ‘I suppose you’re the only one who can get a hold of Holy Water without burning into nothingness’

‘Holy Water doesn’t affect me’, Minseok agrees, ‘It doesn’t burn’

‘Good, do you mind grabbing me a stash then? It’ll be great if you have it by Monday since I’ll be going to hell for a meeting tomorrow’

‘Why in Heavens would you want Holy Water? One drop and it can kill you’

‘Exactly’

The angel froze as Jongdae’s nonchalant response, his eyes boring holes at Jongdae’s back as he stops stocking his shelf, his hand midmotion, the book still in his hands, ‘You’re not planning on suicide, are you?’

‘I’m not going back to hell’

‘Jongdae, you can’t do that. The moment Holy Water touches you; you’ll cease to exist. You’ll disappear forever’

‘That’s the plan’

‘That’s a stupid plan’, Minseok shouts at him, dropping the book back in the box, ‘Whatever comes your way, you should face it head-on and get through it’

‘Hey angel, I would usually love to sit and hear you talk, but tonight I just need you to promise me you’ll get me a stash’

‘No’, the angel glares at Jongdae, walking over to face him, the two finally making eye contact again, ‘I’m not gonna help you kill yourself. I don’t want you to be saying such things ever again’

‘Doomsday won’t be on my side’, the demon reminds the angel, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, ‘I’ll be forced back to the depths of hell’

‘The Armageddon won’t happen for another century or so’, Minseok whispers, ‘And who knows, maybe… Just maybe… The almighty might…’

‘Are you willing to believe she’ll change her mind?’

‘She loves her angels’, Minseok says, ‘She cares for them just as much as she cares for her humans’

‘And what’s that got to do with anything?’

‘She’ll weep with me at the thought of sending you away back to hell’, Minseok confesses, a slow reaction coming from Jongdae as the demon meets his eyes once more, three times now since he walked in the humble bookshop, ‘I don’t want to be separated from you. As hard it is for me to say, I’ve gotten used to you hanging around’, Minseok shyly says, ‘I think the Almighty would want me happy’

‘You’re going to persuade her to let me stay in heaven?’

‘If that’s one of the options, then yes’, Minseok nods, not afraid of the thought of confronting the Almighty. Despite everyone’s fear over her intimidating voice, Minseok is one of the few angels who barely contact her, but he isn’t afraid when he does.

‘You’re quite the romantic, angel’, Jongdae chuckles, ‘You would risk facing the Almighty just to save me from hell’

‘I’m pretty sure you’d do the same thing for me, right?’

‘I sure will, angel’


	6. The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: some graphic descriptions of violence/torture.

_ Chapter Five: The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse. _

_ _

Death came in the form of s short man. A man with black hair cut short, round eyes and plump lips, round glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. He wears black long sleeves, with black ripped jeans, sitting in a restaurant, his eyes on his phone, reading the text messages from the other horsemen.

‘They’re late’, he whispers, slightly annoyed, but he expected it. They never keep up to schedules. So, death sits by himself in the middle of a busy restaurant, sipping his drink and nibbling on the breadsticks placed at the side of the table.

‘Kyungsoo’

‘Woah, Jongdae? What are you doing here?’, Death smiles at the sight of his favourite demon, seeing Jongdae taking a seat in front of him.

‘Just checking up’, Jongdae says, making up an excuse on the spot, ‘I’m in charge of the whole thing, remember?’

‘Ah yes’, Kyungsoo nods, sliding his glasses up and smiling at him, ‘Satan is biased towards you’

‘Yeah, how’, Jongdae mutters, revulsion in his tone but he makes sure to bury it from Death, ‘Have you guys planned to meet the boy?’

‘Yeah, we’ll be meeting him this afternoon’, Kyungsoo nods, looking down his phone, ‘That’s if the other three shows up’

‘They’re late?’

‘They’ve been waiting for this moment all their life, yet they don’t know how to conduct business etiquette’, Kyungsoo sighs, clearly disappointed in his team, ‘But then again, we haven’t seen each other in centuries. They could be busy with other things’

‘Well, since the Apocalypse is starting soon, I might as well join you guys in meeting the kid’, Jongdae says, looking down at his watch and feeling the time tick by. Having lived for all eternity, time is not a prison for Jongdae who flounders around the Earth with much ease, but the demon now feels the constraints of time now that he doesn’t have much of it left, tapping his hands on the table and shaking his legs, eager and waiting for the other three to show up so he can meet the real antichrist.

Minseok says it’s a useless idea, and that their fate is sealed, so there would be no point in meeting the antichrist now – but Jongdae runs ahead – he wanted to at least meet the boy who’d be ripping the last pleasures of his life apart before he heads back to hell. He wanted to at least see his face. But also, maybe a small part of his brain still wanted him to try and change it, to persuade the boy not to go through with the destruction.

‘Kyungsoo!’

‘What’s up?!’

‘You guys took your time’, Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he stands up, not even bothering to greet famine who smiled goofily at him before stealing his glass of iced water and drinking it, ‘Jongin, stop stealing my shit’

‘Can’t help it’, Jongin sighs as he finishes Kyungsoo’s drink, I’m famished’

‘How’ve you been Kyungsoo?’, Pollution looks over at him, giving him a small wave before sitting down next to Jongin, grabbing a toothpick from the table, resting it between his lips, ‘Haven’t seen you in a long time’

‘I had a lot of paperwork to do’, Kyungsoo says to Junmyeon, ‘The human populations have grown, so I’ve been stuck in the office’

‘Sucks to be you’, Yixing chuckles, ‘I’ve mainly been in no man’s land causing havoc’

‘I heard you caused another war’, Jongin smiles, lifting his hand to high five Yixing, the three horsemen celebrating their plagues into the world. Jongdae looks at the four horsemen, the men set to help aid the antichrist cause havoc on earth and he feels his brain cells slowly dying as Jongin makes fun out of Kyungsoo’s glasses whilst Yixing discusses the new Love Island season with Junmyeon.

‘No wonder Satan chose you all to end the world’, Jongdae sighs, tapping the table and attracting their attention.

‘Oh, Jongdae, I didn’t notice you’, Jongin calls out, seeing the demon impatiently glaring at them, What brings you here?’

‘I’m here to meet the antichrist with you all’, Jongdae simply states, ‘It’s just double-checking business and such’

‘Oh, well, haven’t you already met him?’

‘When he was a baby yes’, Jongdae nods, ‘But, it’s not too bad to check up on his progress, right?’

‘That’s a good idea’, Kyungsoo nods, siding with the demon without question or suspicion, ‘Everything will run smoother if Jongdae comes with us’

‘Fine by me’, Yixing nods, followed by the other two horsemen, ‘Let’s get this over and done with and meet our new King to be’

‘Yeah, let’s go do that’

* * *

Minseok watches Baekhyun’s football match alone. He’s annoyed that Jongdae bailed out, especially when Baekhyun informed them that his parents won’t be able to make it. They haven’t been to a single one of Baekhyun’s games, but the poor child continues to invite his parents every time without ever giving up on the hope that maybe one day he might turn to the stands and see his mother and father in the crowd.

It broke Minseok’s heart when Baekhyun turns to his side and he sees the boy smiling, waving at him but his smile disappearing when the space beside Minseok is happening, realising that another figure in his life is not present.

The angel didn’t know what to think of Baekhyun anymore. He’s no longer the antichrist. He’s just Baekhyun. He doesn’t pose any importance to him and the ties he has with the boy has now been cut. But he’d be damned if he misses Baekhyun’s game.

‘Go Baekhyun!’, he screams as loud as he possibly can, clapping his hands together and feeling everyone staring at him, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to remind Baekhyun that he’s here, screaming his name and watching his game. He wanted to remind the boy that at least one angel cares – and maybe a demon.

He worries that Jongdae would lose all connections he’s made with Baekhyun after he finds out that the boy they helped raised, is not the boy they should’ve paid attention to. He worries that the demon would neglect Baekhyun and run off to the nearest hiding place once the Apocalypse happens. But also, he worries if Jongdae will leave him behind. Their friendship had no rules, nor did they know how to maintain it. They would lose contact every couple of centuries, bicker and fight over their differences, but they always found each other again, whether it be passing through the snow in Russia, or seeing the other behind s frosted window during Christmas in Germany.

But once the Apocalypse begins, he didn’t think they’ll cross paths again. And that worries the angel most. He wants to spend the numbered days with Baekhyun and Jongdae, to feel like a family, sitting in his bookshop, discussing a show on Netflix whilst he tells the two boys off for lifting their feet on the table. He wants to see Baekhyun pick up a book he’s read and read it for himself, to see the glimmer of excitement and joy as he turns the pages and experience a story out of his own. He wants to laugh at Jongdae’s expression when Chanyeol joins them, sitting close next to Baekhyun, talking about what teenage boys love nowadays whilst Jongdae’s eyes glimmer red.

_Where’s my demon?_

Minseok looks down on his watch. He didn’t want to believe that the demon can drop Baekhyun like that, even after all the years they deemed useless because as he watches Baekhyun cheering at Sehun’s goal, he decides that the thirteen years spent together wasn’t useless. Not to him anyway.

But as the Almighty once said to him: All good things must come to an end.

And he sees the ending in the form of five figures walking into the field, their steps leaving black ashes behind on the grass, footprints of what can only be seen as darkness.

‘What the…’, Minseok whispers is the only being who can see the figures whilst the rest of humanity cheer along to the game, their eyes on the players.

‘He’s not the antichrist’, he hears Jongdae’s voice, even from the stands, loud and dominant as he speaks to the four horsemen, ‘Baekhyun’s just a kid’

‘Who’s Baekhyun?’, Jongin asks, his brows furrowed as he looks at the demon, ‘We’re here for that guy’, his long fingers point ahead at the field where a Secondary School football team is still playing. Jongdae squints his eyes from the sun as he follows the trail, looking ahead to where Jongin is pointing.

His jaw splits open and his eyes widen at the boy running to Baekhyun, hugging him tightly as they run to their coach when the whistle blows, calling the end of the game.

‘We’re here to meet the Prince of Darkness’, Yixing says, blowing out the last of his smokes as he throws the butt of his cigarette on the field, stepping on it, ‘I heard his name is Oh Sehun’

‘You’re fucking kidding me’, Jongdae whispers, feeling like his skin is slowly melting off his body. He’s been interacting with the antichrist all this time?

The immediacy of the situation forces Jongdae to look ahead, past the view of the two teenage boys caught up in a destiny they have yet to be aware of, but way ahead to the angel hidden in the midst of the crowd of parents standing up, the two meeting eyes and a moment of silence is shared between them before he sees Minseok’s pure white wings spread far and wide from his back, the angel disappearing from view as he flies up to the skies.

* * *

_Oh Sehun. Oh fucking Sehun._

Jongdae paces around his apartment, all alone, a feeling he hasn’t experienced for years, his eyes on the ground and his lips ripped from biting it too much. The kid that’s been sticking by Baekhyun is the real antichrist?

He should’ve seen it coming. They share the same fucking birthday, surely, they must’ve accidentally switched the birth wrong.

Jongdae needs Minseok. He needs the angel to make sense of things because it feels like he’s about to go crazy. It’s as if the Almighty knows all along and have been messing with them since the beginning.

‘You’re such an ass!’, he shouts as he looks up at the ceiling, shouting at the Almighty, wherever she is, ‘Why the fuck would you do this?!’

‘Who the hell are you talking to?’, Jongdae spins his body around and he sighs when he sees Minseok walking inside his apartment, running to him as he hugs the angel.

‘Where the hell did you go?’, Jongdae asks, looking at the angel, ‘You just left the football field’

‘I heard your conversation with them’, Minseok admits, ‘I didn’t know Sehun is the antichrist… I had to double-check’

‘Double check?’, Jongdae asks, looking down when Minseok takes a step back and looks down to see that the angel’s holding a file, ‘What is that’

‘Hospital records’, Minseok says, ‘I double-checked and I went to the hospital in Brookman Park and…’, he pulls out the paper inside and shows Jongdae both records, ‘Oh and Byun were in the hospital. The cult woman probably swapped the wrong babies. She’s telling the truth’

‘So… Baekhyun’s supposed to be an Oh and her kid is a Byun?’

‘Yeah’, Minseok nods, ‘Sehun’s Satan’s son’, the angel nods and Jongdae sighs, feeling anger boiling inside his stomach, ‘But that might not be a bad thing’, Minseok says, reaching his hand out and resting it on Jongdae’s cheeks, the pair meeting each other’s eyes.

‘What do you mean?’

‘This is Oh Sehun we’re talking about’, Minseok says, ‘We might not have raised him, but we’ve taken care of him before. His family loves him and they’ve raised him well. He’s Baekhyun’s best friend’

‘So? He accepted the hellhound. That means the Armageddon is happening’

‘And where is the hellhound? Shouldn’t Mrs Oh be calling us when she sees the vicious beast?’, Minseok made a point that Jongdae can’t argue with. They’ve been acquainted with Sehun’s human parents before, so with the new information, the two angels flutter their wings, flying their way over to Sehun’s home.

* * *

‘Hello Vivi’, Baekhyun picks up the small puppy, kissing it before ruffling its fur. The demon dog is confused at most, looking for his aster expectantly, waiting for his order to devour the human in front of him, but instead, Sehun laughs and lays on the grass of his garden.

‘Why would you call him Vivi?’, Chanyeol asks laughing, ‘He’s a boy’

‘So? Vivi’s a cute name and he’s a cute dog’, Sehun says, ignoring Chanyeol’s laughter as he grabs Vivi and makes him sit on his stomach, ‘We’re going to have an amazing summer in Scotland with Vivi!’

‘If only I can come too’, Baekhyun whispers, slightly upset that his best friend will be out of the city for the whole summer.

‘Don’t worry, my mum’s going to be working on her new novel all summer, so we can hang out instead’, Chanyeol points out, smiling brightly as he sits down next to Baekhyun and the two share a shy smile to which Sehun totally notices, feeling a mischievous grin climbing on his face as he winks at Baekhyun and sticks his tongue out playfully, pouting his lips and pretending to kiss the air when Chanyeol turns to look the other way.

‘Shut up’, Baekhyun pushes Sehun, laughing as Sehun continues to make fun out of him, the three boys spending the start of their summer together, finding comfort in each other’s jokes, unknowing of the looming eyes staring at them from behind the trees.

‘Is that the boy?’

‘Yepp’

‘And where’s his hound? Isn’t it supposed to be with him at all times?’

‘I have no idea. Maybe he sent it away to kill someone?’

The four horsemen stare out and peek at the antichrist, seeing the boy laughing with other humans around him, confused, to say the least. They didn’t know what to expect from Satan’s son, but the last thing they expected is how good he is at acting as he cares for the humans around him.

‘Maybe he’s trying to fool everyone to like him?’, Jongin asks, leaning on Junmyeon’s shoulder as they continue to observe.

‘Betrayal? I like where this is going’, Yixing nods, smiling as he leans his arm on Junmyeon’s other shoulder. Kyungsoo on the other hand, looks down on his phone, reading a text message and sighing as he turns off his phone, leaning on a tree and crossing his arms. He stares out at Sehun, eyeing the boy with great suspicion. He stares at the boy sitting next to him, laughing and scrunching his nose as he leans his head on the antichrist’s shoulders. He feels something not quite right as if they’ve been given the wrong jigsaw puzzle.

‘I need to get back to my office’, Kyungsoo says before disappearing and leaving the other three horsemen.

* * *

Minseok and Jongdae fly to Sehun’s house, their wings shining bright as the sun hits it. Jongdae feels his black feathers start to burn and he flies a little lower, using Minseok’s shadow to protect himself.

‘I’m sure we can persuade Sehun not to go through with it. He probably doesn’t know he’s the antichrist either’, Minseok calls out to Jongdae, feeling optimistic about their plan, holding onto the last pieces of sanity they have as Doomsday looms over them, their focus on one thing.

Jongdae agrees, also latching onto the last hope he has as he flies across the city, in search of the boy’s house. But then a loud screech blasts through the air and the demon is blinded by a bright light shining on them.

‘Jongdae!’

‘Minseok?!’

The demon doesn’t know what’s happening. He sees nothing and he reaches his hand out to grab for Minseok’s hand, trying to gain his sight again, but he still sees darkness, followed by Minseok’s screams which disappears instantly when he feels something cold grabbing his arm and pulling him down to the ground and into the depths of hell.

He opens his eyes and looks around, feeling the heat slowly melting his skin and he realises he’s back in hell, surrounded by a crowd of demons looking down on him with glowing eyes, yellow, red, green.

‘Nice to have you back Jongdae’, Hastur laughs as he lifts the demon by the neck, his nails digging into his skin, causing him pain for the first time, ‘Satan wants to see you’

‘For what?’, Jongdae spits at him, attempting to pull back but he feels another demon holding onto him, holding back his arms, ‘Why did you drag me back down here?’

‘Don’t ask me. Ask the boss’

* * *

‘What the hell is going on?!’, Minseok screams as soon as he feels the force around him let go, dropping him on a smooth service, his eyes still blurred from the impact as he stands up, his wings fractured. He looks around, dizzy and in need of support, so he rests his hands on his knees, seeing the pure white walls and instantly figured out where he is.

After breathing for a few seconds, he regains his stance and stands up straight, seeing Gabriel standing in front of him with his arms crossed.

‘Gabriel, what’s going on?’

‘The Armageddon has started’, his superior simply says, ‘We’ve been in full preparation and we’re ready to depart down on Earth’

‘Why the hell did you pull me here then?’, Minseok asks, ‘I’m not part of the army, I told you that’

‘Yeah, I know’, Gabriel assures him, patting his shoulder and giving him a comforting smile, as if he pities him, ‘That’s not why I was ordered to bring you back’

‘Then what was your order’

‘I don’t know’, Gabriel confesses, ‘The Almighty just says to bring you back here immediately’

‘What?’

‘God wants to see you. Now’

* * *

Jongdae is tight to a scorching hot chair, his skin melting as he screams out. Hastur laughs as he wraps barbed wire around his wrist, locking him down as they drag the chair to Satan’s office, knocking on the door first before placing hi right in front of the desk.

The demon didn’t have the energy to open his eyes, feeling every bit of his body being torn and burnt over and over again, screaming.

‘Get out and leave me be with him’, a deep voice shouts at the other demons, scaring them as they run out of the office, the chair turned back. A moment of silence is faced between the two of them until the chair slowly turns around, Satan himself facing his favourite demon and his right-hand man.

‘You disappoint me’, Satan sighs, looking at Jongdae. He tightens his tie, his suit perfectly pressed and hair gelled up. Despite living in hell for millenniums, he still looked like the angel he once was.

‘Get me out of this fucking torture device you fucking idiot’, Jongdae spits at him, feeling his newly formed skin scorch and melt once more against the burning chair. Jongdae hears a click and immediately, the pain stops and he’s sitting on a normal chair, the barbed wire no longer pressing deep into his wrist.

‘I’ve just been informed by Death himself that my son was not given to the assigned filthy humans’, Satan calls out, looking at the e-mail that he received from Kyungsoo a few minutes ago, ‘I gave you this job because I trusted you, and here you are now, messing up my plans to ruin the Almighty’s most loved possession’

‘That wasn’t my fault’, Jongdae spits out the remaining blood from his mouth, glaring up at his once best friend, ‘You chose a shit human’

‘Or maybe I chose the wrong demon’, Satan sighs, standing up, ‘You were once a fierce demon, the front line of the battle. We stood up to the Almighty together and nearly conquered her. I thought you’d still have that same gusto’

‘I never wanted to battle her’, Jongdae spits out again, ‘I only wanted her to change a few things. You promised me it was a peaceful protest’

‘Yet you still joined me when it turned into a war’, Satan says, shrugging his shoulders, ‘Let’s face it Jongdae, you wanted the change as much as I did’

‘Not any more’, Jongdae calls out to which Satan begins to laugh, clapping his hands together as he stares at the demon in front of him.

‘Best friend, I expected better from you’

‘I’m not your best friend’, Jongdae hisses, his red eyes glowing bright, ‘You’re a fucking dickhead with a big ego who just wanted to overthrow her’

‘I don’t want to overthrow her’, Satan rolls his eyes and stands up from his chair, buttoning his suit, ‘I want to annihilate her and everything she loves’

‘What the fuck has she done to you to make you hate her so much?!’, Jongdae stands up after he feels his body slowly heal itself, ‘Yes, I didn’t agree with some of her rules, but I never wanted her gone. She made us!’

‘Which is why she needs to go!’, the devil screams at him, stomping over to face him, gripping on his shirt and pushing him against the wall, ‘She uses that dan excuse! Saying she made us which means she has every right to control us, but she doesn’t! We control ourselves! She is nothing!’

‘You’re fucked up’, Jongdae growls, pushing him away from him, ‘I can’t believe I followed you down here’

‘And you think you’ll be happy in heaven?’, Satan snickers, rolling his eyes and walking back to give Jongdae space, ‘You’d think you’d have someone up there?’

‘I do actually’, the demon stands up to him, ‘I have someone waiting for me’

‘No one waits for a demon’

‘An angel would’

* * *

Minseok sits down in the waiting room outside’s God’s office and he feels like throwing up. He didn’t know what’s going to happen but all he can think about is Jongdae and Baekhyun. Time is irrelevant here in Heaven, so he doesn’t know if five minutes have been five years already on Earth. He doesn’t know where Jongdae is or if the demon has made it to Sehun’s house to explain everything, but he’s anxious, impatiently waiting for the Almighty to see him already so he can race his way back down on Earth and spend the remaining days left with his family before the end of the world obliterate everyone.

‘Hey’

‘Woah’, Minseok stands up the moment he sees him walking into the waiting room, ‘What are you doing here?’

The Almighty’s son walks in, in a three-piece suit, his hair slightly scruffy and unkempt, much to the Almighty’s dismay. He looks good, happy and clean. A different image since when Minseok last saw him down on Earth.

‘I heard they brought you back here’, he says, smiling at him, ‘I wanted to meet you again’, the angel feels his warm embrace and he hugs him back, ‘I wanted to meet my favourite angel again’

‘Don’t have favourites’, Minseok reminds him, making him laugh, ‘It’s bad’

‘I know, so don’t tell my mum’, he smiles, giving him a comforting pat on the back, ‘I think I know why she called for you’, the angel froze and he sees the smile slowly disappearing on his face and the angel slowly realises why he’s here too, ‘I understand you. I spend a brief time on Earth, less than you, but I care for the humans too’

‘I don’t want them to die in the hands of-’

‘I know’, he smiles once more, ‘You’re a good angel. You took care of me when I was young too. I’m not surprised that you did the same to his son… Well, so someone who you thought was his son’

‘Have you known all this time?’, Minseok asks, feeling terrible when he nods, ‘I’m sorry for ruining your plans. I didn’t mean any disrespect’

‘I know. As I said, I understand’, he reassures the angel, ‘But make sure not to anger my mother. She’s already stressed with everything else’

‘She’s not going to exile me, right?’

‘Exile one of her best angels?’, he laughs, ‘I won’t let her’

The door finally swings open and they both turn to see the light creeping out of the other end, signalling Minseok to walk in and the angel suddenly tenses.

‘It’s okay’, he found comfort in him, ‘Just explain everything to her and she’ll understand’

* * *

‘You ruined the Divine Plan!’

‘I’m sorry’

‘You attempted to raise the bringer of death!’

‘I know…’

‘You befriended a demon!’

‘I-’

‘You worked with him for centuries!’

‘I… I’m so sorry’, Minseok’s head is hung low, staring at the floor and looking at his shoes whilst the Almighty shouts at him, her hand banging on the table as she reads out the report that was given to her by Death himself, ‘I just wanted… I didn’t want to-’

‘Your selfish wishes should not interfere with the Plan!’, she continues to shout and Minseok feels like crying. He disappointed the Almighty with a plan which didn’t even work since the Heavens are preparing for the sounds of the trumpets soon. He feels like he’s slowly being pulled away from his life as he looks down and notices the change of his clothing, seeing himself in an all-white three-piece suit that mirrors the other angels preparing for the battle. His wings, once fractured, now healed and standing tall and wide behind him back, glimmering in the bask of the light. He slowly feels himself being placed to the bigger picture, like a jigsaw puzzle. But he’s not a jigsaw puzzle, he’s an angel and he wants to get back to where his human and demon are, wherever they are.

‘You’ve ruined the Plan!’, she continues to scream and Minseok takes a step back when he feels a rush of wind blowing, looking up to see her standing up from her seat. The Almighty is indescribable, despite staring at her right now, Minseok couldn’t even begin to correlate words into his mouth to describe the awesomeness of the Almighty. She’s ineffable. But she’s also pissed beyond her mind as she slams the door to her office close, her son and the other angels being blocked from hearing her final verdict over the angel after listing all his terrible deeds.

Minseok is frightened, to say the least as he watches her step closer to him, her arms folded and eyes glowering at him. There’s a moment of silence shared between them, Minseok wondering if this will be the end of his immortal life.

But then he sees her smile and her scowl turns into a grin.

‘You ruined the Plan, but you didn’t ruin my plan’

* * *

Sarah Jane yawns as she stretches her arms from writing too much, standing up to walk around for a bit. She never thought writing can be horrendously long, so she makes herself a cup of tea, opening the curtains and letting the sun in.

‘You look tired’, a voice calls out to her, arms wrapped around her waist as he feels someone hug her. She smiles and leans back, turning and hugging the figure back.

‘I’ve just been writing’

‘I know, but you need to rest too’, Death looks down on the angel and gives her a warm kiss, the pair sharing a moment of bliss.

‘Did you tell the Almighty everything?’, she asks and Kyungsoo nods, leaning on the kitchen island as he watches his angel pour herself and him a cup of tea, ‘She’s happy it worked’

‘I’m sure she is’, Sarah Jane says, chuckling, ‘She’s been ready to get rid of the initial plan since it was sealed’

‘I can’t believe Minseok and Jongdae would try to raise the antichrist themselves though’, Kyungsoo chuckles, drinking his tea.

‘The Almighty expected it’, Sarah Jane comments, ‘They’ve always had a thing for each other. It’s not a surprise that they’d want to raise a kid together’

‘God works in mysterious ways I guess’, Kyungsoo chuckles, walking beside the angel towards the living room where a typewriter is placed on the desk, hundreds of papers piled on top of each other, resting beside it. Kyungsoo kisses the angel one more time, knowing that he’ll need to get back to work soon and Sarah Jane holds him for a few minutes more, smiling as she lets him go, watching him close the door.

A few minutes later, he hears the door opening again, her son walking in with his dirty shoes to which she orders him to take off before he enters the living room.

‘What did I say about bringing your shoes inside the living room?’, she lectures her son to which Chanyeol whines, taking it off and placing it the shoe shelves at the front, ‘Did you have a good time outside?’

‘Yeah’, Chanyeol says, walking back and kissing his mother, ‘Did you boyfriend come to visit?’

‘Just call him Kyungsoo next time’

‘Nah, I find his name revolting for some weird reason’, her son squirms and she chuckles, playfully tugging his hair as he laughs, walking up the stairs, ‘But say hello to him anyway!’

‘I will’, she shouts to the front of the stairs, ‘How're your new friends? Are you settling in well with them?’

‘Yeah! It feels like I’ve just met my soulmates’

‘That’s lovely to hear’

* * *

‘What the fuck is going on?’

‘I have no idea’

‘Minseok, why’re we up in Heaven’

‘Don’t ask me, I don’t know why I’m in Heaven either’, the angel says as he looks in front of him to see the three horsemen standing in front of him.

‘Dude, I’ missing an episode of Love Island because of this’, Yixing whines, ‘I thought the Rapture was going to begin tomorrow morning?’, his whines continue and Minseok can’t lie – it’s annoying the shit out of him.

‘Maybe the Almighty wants to compromise?’, Jongin points out, finally adding himself into the conversation when his phone runs out of battery and he didn’t bring his power bank so he looks up and watches the angel pace around the room, waiting for the last horseman and maybe another angel to explain what the fuck is happening right now.

‘No, we’re going with the Rapture as planned’, a voice makes its way inside the office and the doors slides open, Kyungsoo walking in with his suit and his hair finally combed back, his Rolex watch resting on his wrist as he adjusts his cuffs.

‘You look ravishing’, Jongin comments, ‘What’s the special occasion?’

‘We’re here to lead the Rapture’, Kyungsoo says, ‘We should look the part’, he looks ahead and see his fellow horsemen looking like a piece of shit in their ripped jeans and sweatshirts. He rolls his eyes and orders them to get up, ‘Can you get changed into something appropriate? We’re about to end the world’

‘Wait…’, Minseok says, ‘End the world? But God just said-’

‘Yeah, she says her Plan is going to happen. The Divine Plan has been scrapped, which means we won’t be attacking Earth’

‘Then what will we be attacking?’, Junmyeon asks as he stands up, questioning Death.

‘Hell’

‘What?!’, the all shout at him in shock, even Minseok looks confused, wondering why God plans to shift the end of the world in hell, ‘Why would we do that?’

‘Hell’s our home’, Yixing points out, ‘We work for Satan’

‘God’s made a deal’, Kyungsoo informs them, ‘She says if we do this, we’re welcomed back into Heaven’

‘What?’

‘Once we struck havoc into hell, it will slowly cease to exist and their power will weaken. Satan will no longer have the bravery and the numbers to go up against her. Once we defeat him, out titles of angels can be restored to us’

‘Are you being for real?’, Yixing snorts, ‘God would never do that! We killed millions of our fellow angels in the first war! She hates us!’

‘She’s a forgiving God’, Kyungsoo defends her, As long as we stop this next war from killing another million of innocent human and angel lives, we’ve repented and restored our sins’, this stops the other three horsemen from shouting in disagreement, all three staring at each other in a moment of silent. They were once radicals too, and they continue to cause havoc amongst the humans, and they still love it.

But they shared a thought they didn’t think they would. The only reason why they liked causing havoc on Earth is so that they won’t go back to hell.

‘You promise, we’ll be allowed back in Heaven?’, Jongin asks him and Kyungsoo nods, but they’re still hesitant, not fully believing in the new plans and promises God has given them, not until her son walks in with three different contracts resting on his arm. He smiles at them and winks at Minseok as they give them their contracts, signed and sealed already by the Almighty.

‘Kyungsoo’s telling the truth’, Junmyeon gasps, reading the deal and staring at Kyungsoo with wide eyes, ‘She’s letting us back in’

‘Then what are we fucking waiting for’, Yixing slaps his finger on the end of the contract, his name automatically pasting itself on the Divine paper, ‘Let’s cause havoc in hell’

The three horsemen click their fingers, their ripped jeans and leather jacket slowly disappearing, being replaced by all-black three-piece suits with golden cuffs, their hair combed and gelled, Jongin smirking as he slides his hand in his pockets, standing up tall and imagine the feeling of wings on his back.

‘Let’s fucking go’

‘This is all fine and dandy’, Minseok finally steps into the conversation, ‘But I still don’t know why I’m here’, he says, raising his hand and feeling out of place.

‘Jongdae’s been sent back down to hell’, Kyungsoo informs him, ‘I told Satan the plan to throw us off his suspicions, but he’s putting all the blame on Jongdae’

‘What!?’, Minseok shouts after hearing the demon’s name. _His demon’s name, _‘What’re they doing to Jongdae in hell?’

‘Torture’, Almighty’s son says, ‘He needs to be saved before the war in hell starts’

‘So, are you in?’, Kyungsoo asks, looking to Minseok with an expectant grin, ‘I heard you were quite the fighter back in the first war’

‘I hate killing’, Minseok points out, but the thought of Jongdae all alone in hell, being tortured by those filthy demons made his skin crawl and his stomach churn.

‘Come on’, Jongin skips to the angel, hitting his back, ‘Don’t you wanna lead the army of angels to the depths of hell? It’ll be fun’

‘Your definition of fun freaks me out’, Kyungsoo looks at Jongin with a questioning brow.

‘I need to get Jongdae out of there’, Minseok makes up his mind before he can change his mind, walking towards Kyungsoo, ‘We need to go now before he dies’

‘Wait’, the Almighty’s son stops him first, lifting an object from nowhere and handing it to Minseok. The angel looks at the long metal, burning with the Holy Flames.

‘My flaming sword… I thought I gave that to=’

‘I made sure to steal it whilst I was in limbo’, he smiles, handing it to Minseok, ‘You’ll be needing it’

The angel nods his head, grabbing the sword and looking at the four horsemen with focus and gusto, his expression serious as he leads them out of the office, ‘Let’s go save my demon’

* * *

Jongdae is hung up from the ceiling, his hands tied around whilst he’s beaten and battered by his fellow demons, words being spat in his direction.

_Traitor._

_Traitor._

He’s eardrums are buzzing, his vision blurred and he feels like dying. He uses the rest of his energy to open his eyes, looking ahead to see Satan smirking as he leans on the wall, watching the demons torture him. The heat of hell is excruciating, the lava surrounding them along with hell’s fire. Light cannot reach this place, nor the cooling breeze of the wind, leaving Jongdae’s skin to melt over and over again until he’s begging for death already, wanting to get it over and done with.

The seconds stretched into hours and it felt like the hours have stretched into years as he feels his face dunked in lava, his nails ripped off his skin and his back slashed a thousand times with a whip. The cycle continues over and over again, Jongdae losing count of how much blood he’s lost.

‘You fucking bastards’, he manages to growl between his whines, ‘Fucking…’, he feels a kick on his stomach and he stops talking, sweat dripping from all over his body, mixing in with his blood. His vision is blurring again and it won’t be long till he loses his sight completely, slowly losing his consciousness as they continue to torture him.

Suddenly trumpets begin to blow.

_What?_

_What was that?_

_Was that the trumpets?_

_Is the Armageddon here already?_

The demons stop what they’re doing, looking around to find the source of the loud blow, playing again and again like a siren of warning. They begin to shout, questioning each other, pushing and shuffling, looking for their King to explain to them.

Jongdae uses this time to regain as much energy as his body can muster, fluttering his eyes open one last time and seeing Satan’s confused expression as he looks around.

_The end has started. _

_Minseok. I want to be with my angel._

Jongdae keeps thinking about the angel. He doesn’t have any time left with him as he hears the trumpet signalling the end of the world. He wants to get back to him, to say goodbye at least, to say…

_‘Charge!’_

And like the scene from Lord of the Rings, Jongdae looks up to see Hell splitting open, rocks dropping from the above, landing on the ground as light floods in, every demon screeching and screaming from the sudden brightness.

The demon lifts his head, squinting at the pure white light coursing into hell, something that should not be allowed to happen. He spits the remnants of blood and saliva in his mouth, his skin burnt and scarred already, but he finds enough strength to keep hold of the view – and what a fucking view it is – to see an angel charging inside hell with a flaming sword in his hands, followed by the four horsemen, riding their winged horses, swords in their hands and charging at the unarmed and unprepared hordes of demons.

_Minseok._

The scream of commands is followed with a large charge of angels, with their pure white armour and swords, following Minseok into battle as they begin to swing their sword at the demons.

‘What the fuck is going on?!’, Satan screams, looking for his Generals, screaming orders and commands at them. Jongdae is still hung up, abandoned by the demons as they quickly disperse, grabbing their swords and weapons, trying to battle the armies of angels bombarding them at once.

Yixing screams and his army of angels followed him behind, taking his commands as War takes over from Minseok, flying to the front of the battle.

‘Go get your demon!’, Jongin shouts at the angel, taking charge and allowing Minseok to diverge his course, flying to the other side of hell, in search of Jongdae, his eyes frantic and desperate, in search of the demon.

Junmyeon clicks his fingers and a swarm of toxic smoke rise underneath him, his horse flying across the landscape of death, secreting poison which left the demons vulnerable, coughing up blood and kneeling as they lose their breath, Yixing spitting them all in one go.

‘What the hell are you doing?!’, Satan shouts when he looks up to spot the four horsemen attacking his unprepared army, ‘You’re supposed to be on my side!’

‘Not any more’, Jongin shouts as he flies over to where he is, leaving trails of dark ashes which chokes the demons, ‘We’ve been promoted back into the Heavens’, he says, smirking as he swings his sword up, the metal singing as it hits the King of Darkness.

* * *

‘Jongdae! Jongdae!’, Minseok screams, flying everywhere, coughing up the ashes and dust surrounded Hell, looking around for the demon, ‘Jongdae, where are you?!’

He’s never been in Hell before, he has no idea where they would cage the demon and he doesn’t have long before Kyungsoo clicks his fingers and causes death to Hell itself, crumbling it into nothing along with everyone trapped here. They needed to escape before that happens.

He uses as much strength as he could as he flutters his wings, blowing the dust and ashes away from his view as he looks down, seeing piles of bodies already scattered everywhere.

‘Jongdae!’

‘Angel!’, he hears Yixing shouting, Minseok turning around and seeing Yixing slay a crowd of demons, ‘Over there!’, he points before returning to the fight, pointing to the distance and seeing a figure hung up, swinging from the rush of wind, his head hung low and shirt soaked in sweat and blood.

‘Oh God’, Minseok tears, soaring into the skies and flying to where the demon is, his arms finally reaching Jongdae’s, pulling him out, his flaming sword cutting the ropes from his arms and letting him fall in his, ‘Jongdae’, he whispers.

The angel begins to cry at the sight of the demon, seeing his bruised face, open scars and burnt skin. His blue tears are heavy as it slides down his face, landing on the demon. He has just separated from the demon a few hours ago, and now they’re here, Jongdae unconscious and grasping on his last straw of breath. He feels his heart beating fast, thumping like war drums signalling the end.

‘Open your eyes demon’, Minseok whispers, stroking his sweaty hair back and looking at his face, ‘Open your eyes Jongdae, please’

The demon has lost all his strength by this time, his last memory is of Minseok taking charge as the skies of Hell splits open.

‘Please, you can’t leave me’, Minseok whispers again, looking around to see Hell in flames, the demons lessening as the four horsemen continue to kill every single one in sight, ‘We don’t have much time left. I need to know you’re alive so I can bring you up with me’, he explains to Jongdae, as if the demon can hear him – fuck – he hopes Jongdae can still hear him, deep in his subconscious, he hopes the demon can hear his voice and allow it to be the rope that pulls him back.

‘Minseok! We’ve got to go!’, he hears Junmyeon shouting for him, ‘Kyungsoo’s going to do it!’

‘Wake the fuck up’, Minseok shakes Jongdae’s body, desperate to read any signs of life, ‘I need you alive so I can pull you out, so wake the fuck up’, he says again, his voice screaming, his arms holding onto Jongdae, tighter and tighter.

‘Minseok! Let’s go!’, Jongin shouts, joining Junmyeon as they fly over to where Minseok is, looking down at the unconscious demon in his arms, ‘We need to leave now’

‘Jongdae… I don’t know… I don’t know if he’s-’

‘Leave him if he’s gone’, Jongin shouts, ‘He won’t make it once we leave’

‘But…’, Minseok squeezes him tighter, ‘I’m not leaving him’

‘You’re going to kill yourself if you stay here’, Junmyeon warns, ‘Kyungsoo will be settling this once and for all and we can’t be here when that happens’

‘I came down here to save Jongdae. I’m not leaving without him’, Minseok says again.

‘No one who’s died in Hell makes it out alive’, Junmyeon warns him, but before he can persuade Minseok to abandon the demon, they hear the sounds of the trumpets again, coming from above, warning them that the final moments are upon them, that Hell will disintegrate and become nothing.

‘We need to get out!’, Jongin shouts, kicking his horse to fly to Minseok, grabbing him by the waist and hoisting him up, ‘Now!’

‘Wait, Jongdae!’, Minseok grabs hold of Jongdae, his unconscious body still in his arms as Jongin traps him on the horse, the angels immediately leaving the remnants of Hell, cheering as the sounds of trumpets continues to blow, this time, a sound of celebration, the eradication of the darkness that has been looming under them.

Minseok closes his eyes, hugging on Jongdae’s body, pinning himself onto the demon as he feels Jongin’s horse fly out of Hell and back into the Heavens.

He prays. He prays until his voice disappears, asking the Almighty to give them mercy and let Jongdae live. He prays until he loses consciousness, the army of angels finding themselves at the gates of Heaven with the horsemen at the forefront, being awaited by the Almighty herself and her son.

‘Minseok!’, her son runs over to the angel, catching him once Jongin’s horse lands, Minseok and Jongdae both falling, ‘What happened?’

‘Jongdae’s dead’, Jongin says, ‘But he still bought him with us’, he leaps out of the horse, walking to the Almighty, presenting her with his sword, covered with the blood of her once favourite adviser. She looks down on it and sighs, a wave of sadness coursing through her as she witnesses another of her creation fall into death.

‘The deed’s done’, she announces, clapping her and wiping the blood off her angels, ‘We can finally rest’

Jongin steps back, re-joining Kyungsoo, Yixing and Junmyeon, their black suits slowly turning into pure white. They feel something pressing out of their skin, a muscle growing back and they look at each other with wide excited eyes as they witness their wings coming back, fluttering behind them, all white and pure.

‘We’re fucking angels again!’, Yixing screams, punching the air in excitement, only for the Almighty to slap his head.

‘Language’, she warns him before passing to where her son is, kneeling to see Minseok laying unconscious, along with Jongdae by his side.

‘Is Jongdae dead?’, Kyungsoo asks, his wings fluttering behind him as he kneels to inspect the two beings.

‘Yes’, the Almighty replies, noticing the millions of angels crowding around them, focusing their gaze on the poor souls laying on the clouds, ‘It looks like Satan wanted him dead’

‘We were late…’, Yixing sighs in frustration, kicking at the cloud and cursing again.

‘What are we going to do?’, Kyungsoo asks her, feeling pity over the two beings, ‘Minseok’s going to wake up at the news of Jongdae’s death’

‘No, he’s not’, the Almighty softly smiles as she combs her fingers through Minseok’s hair, lovingly staring at her angel, the creature she created so meticulously, her very own Jade Stone.


	7. The Great Jade Stone, The Great Bell and The Virtuous.

_Final Chapter; The Great Jade Stone, The Great Bell and The Virtuous._

Minseok flutters his eyes open, feeling his throat dry up as he sits up. He finds himself inside what seems to be a hospital.

‘You’re up’, Kyungsoo says and he turns to find the four horsemen of the apocalypse sitting beside his bed – but they weren’t the horsemen – they didn’t look like it anymore, instead, they wore all white, not particularly suits, since Jongin had white ripped jeans on, but they had their wings back.

‘Woah’, is his first reaction at the sight of them, ‘What in Heavens are you doing here?’, is his second reaction once he realised, he’s not on Earth, which means he can only be in one other place.

‘We live here again’, Jongin celebrates, pulling out his phone and taking a picture of the golden room, painted in pure white, ‘God gave us penthouses too!’

‘I got the one on the highest skyscraper’, Yixing boasts, ‘I’m trying to redecorate it though. Everything’s in white’

‘Same’, Junmyeon adds on, ‘I’m painting my walls red instead’

Minseok listens to the horsemen turned angels discuss the interior design of their new homes in Heaven, his memory hazy and blurred. All he remembers is leading an army of angels in Hell, waking up now, assuming they’ve won if God herself is giving four idiots a penthouse in Heaven.

He looks down on his lap for a few minutes, trying to piece together his fragmented memories, feeling waves of emotions coming through him as he remembers flying into the great Darkness in Hell, in search of something… Of someone…

_‘Jongdae!’_

The angel shouts once he remembers everything, the flashes of images bombarding him and making him squirm, ‘Jongdae!’, he screams again as he stands up from his bed, throwing his blankets on the ground, ‘Where is he!? Did I leave him behind?!’

‘No, you didn’t’, the door swings open, Almighty’s son walking in, ‘Jongdae’s in the other room, resting. He has a lot more injuries, so it’ll take a few more days for him to wake up’

‘He’s alive’, Minseok gasps, a weight being lifted off his heart as he sighs in relief, ‘He’s alive’, he says again, in need to hear it over and over again.

‘Yeah, apparently I was wrong’, Jongin says, looking up at the man standing in front of them, ‘Apparently, there was one other person who survived being tortured in Hell’

‘Well, looks like I’m not the only one now’, he smiles, patting Minseok’s knees, ‘He’ll wake up soon, and by then, my mother will be ready to discuss your future’

* * *

Jongdae flutters his eyes open, feeling recharged as he stretches his arms and hugs onto the pillow, yawning.

‘Jongdae!’

Before the demon can make sense of things, he feels something heavy press against him, making him gasps as he looks down, finding Minseok hugging him tightly. He smiles and hugs him back, ‘Minseok’, he whispers.

‘You’re alive’

‘You came to save me’, Jongdae says, remembering the last memories he had, seeing Minseok’s great wings soar across hell with his flaming sword by his side.

‘I had to’, Minseok whispers, ‘I’m not facing the wrath of the Almighty by myself. You ruined the Divine Plan with me’

‘Well, I don’t mind being exiled with you if that’s the result’, Jongdae says, looking down on his body and seeing no scars left from his previous torture in Hell, ‘She did a fine mighty job at fixing me up’

‘When are you going to stop underestimating her’, Minseok chuckles, sitting on the bed beside Jongdae, ‘She defeated Satan’

‘Took her long enough’

‘You’re right’, her voice appears right in front of them, ‘It did take me long enough’

‘Oh shit’, Jongdae sits up from her bed as he’s faced in front of God herself.

‘What is it with demons and swearing’, she rolls her eyes approaching the two beings, ‘I assume you’re both healthy enough to hear my final verdict?’

Minseok and Jongdae tensed at her serious voice, Minseok slowly standing up from the bed, his hands behind his back, ready to receive whatever punishment is deemed for them.

Jesus, the four horsemen and even Gabriel, peeks from behind the door, their eyes trying to look into the small crack of the door, trying to hear into their conversation, curious to see what she would do to them. Minseok and Jongdae ruined the Divine Plan, but that’s always been the Ultimate Plan, to lure Satan into thinking they’d have another battle on Earth to end it all. God just didn’t expect an angel and a demon to add themselves into the equation.

‘My Plan relied on humanity’, she begins, ‘I needed loving humans to raise the antichrist and prove to me that my creation is still worth saving. But what I didn’t know is… I needed more than that’, she takes a step forward, staring at the two beings, ‘Because of you, the antichrist is just a normal teenage boy living his life free of any fate’

‘We didn’t even raise him’, Jongdae says, ‘We got the wrong boy’

‘That you did’, she nods, chuckling, ‘But because of your son, Sehun grew up with a loving relationship. Had Baekhyun not approached him on his first day of school, his path would’ve been vastly different. You raised your son well’

‘Our… Son?’, Minseok asks, tilting his head in confusion as he looks at the Almighty, ‘Baekhyun’s not our son’

‘You raised him by yourself, didn’t you?’, she asks them to which they both nodded, ‘Then he’s your son, from this day onwards’

‘Wait, what do you mean by that?’, Jongdae asks, gripping on the blankets.

‘The Armageddon is no longer happening, which means there’s still a future on Earth’, God looks down, sadness shadowing in her eyes, ‘Unfortunately, I couldn’t save every human in the grips of Satan’

‘And?’

‘Baekhyun’s parents are gone. Both died in a car accident’, she informs them to which Minseok gasps, grabbing Jongdae’s hand, ‘Baekhyun is an orphan now’

‘How long have we been apart from him?’

‘The whole summer’

‘Shit’, Jongdae hisses, turning to look at Minseok who’s just as shocked as he is, ‘Is he okay?’

‘He knows the pair of you went on a business trip in Korea. He’s just received a text from you both saying you’re flying back to London tomorrow’

‘We’re allowed back to Earth?’

‘Baekhyun needs his parents’, the Almighty replies, ‘I wouldn’t want to rip him away from them. So, I suggest you leave now’

‘Yes!’, the three of them turn to the door to hear the angels screaming out in celebration, accidentally kicking the door in the process, the Almighty laughing when they see them hugging each other.

‘You the fucking best!’, Jongin points to her, hugging Kyungsoo in the process, to which Death rolls his eyes but hugs him back.

* * *

Baekhyun sits by himself in the waiting room of the hospital, his eyes puffy and red, his throat dry and sore from crying so much. He sits by himself, not having the guts to call Sehun and tell him everything. He didn’t want to ruin his best friend’s holiday in Scotland. He wonders whether he should call Chanyeol instead, but he knows he’s not the person he wants to see.

‘Baekhyun!’

He almost breaks down when he hears their voice, standing up and running to them the moment the doors swing open and Minseok and Jongdae walk in, his arms outstretched as he hugs them, crying all over again, but this time, he had comforting arms around him whilst he breaks down.

‘We’re sorry’, Minseok whispers, kissing the top of his head as they engulf Baekhyun in a hug, ‘We got here as soon as we could’

Baekhyun didn’t say anything. He didn’t have the energy to talk, all he could do is cry himself to sleep, in the arms of his guardian angels.

* * *

‘Your parents left a will’, the woman in a suit explains as he sits Baekhyun down after the funeral in an office across the city, ‘If anything happens to them, they made sure to secure you of their riches’

Baekhyun nods, his expression glum and low, especially after being dragged into social services after his parents’ funeral. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him, whether he’ll be sent in foster care far away from his home and friends. He didn’t know whether they’ll be taking him away now.

‘They also left a carer if anything happens to them’, she explains, ‘It says here they’re entrusting you to their college friends and your godparents’

Baekhyun finally lifts his head to stare at her, his eyes widening when he hears his Uncles’ names being readout.

‘They’ve declared and granted permission for them to adopt you as their child’, she says, smiling comfortingly at him, ‘And as you can see Baekhyun, they’ve already signed the papers and have legally adopted you’

‘Really?’, Baekhyun asks, his voice breaking as he feels himself crying again – but not of sadness – suddenly an overwhelming course of joy floods through him and he couldn’t help but begin to cry, his shoulders shaking.

‘Would you like to meet your new parents? They’re waiting for you outside’, she smiles, standing up and walking over to hold Baekhyun’s hand, guiding him out of her office and outside the waiting room area where two nervous guys are waiting nervously. Jongdae bites his nail whilst Minseok pace around, freezing when Baekhyun walks in, still crying.

‘Oh, Heavens’, Minseok’s heart breaks at the sight of Baekhyun crying, ‘I told you he won’t like it’, he tells Jongdae, ‘We should’ve asked his permission to adopt him before we signed those damn papers’

‘No’, Baekhyun shakes his head, still crying but wiping his tears with his dress shirt, ‘I’m not mad’, he says between sobs, ‘I’m happy’

‘Really?’, Jongdae asks, walking over and kneeling in front of Baekhyun, ‘Because we’re happy if you’re happy’

‘Yeah, I’m very happy’, Baekhyun nods, hugging Jongdae tightly and crying into his father’s arms. It felt good to call him that – it felt natural – and that’s because he’s been thinking of Jongdae and Minseok as his fathers all along.

Sehun and the Ohs walk into the waiting room after being called by Minseok of the news, Sehun crying at the sight of his best friend hugging his new family. He rushes forward, joining the hug, squeezing himself between Jongdae and Minseok.

Vivi, his red eyes long gone, looks out ahead, seeing his master full of love and compassion. His will to kill and devour, barking as he runs towards them, his tail wagging as he also tries to join in.

‘Look at them’, Sarah Jane smiles as she opens the door, Chanyeol running to his best friends, crying as he hugs Baekhyun. Kyungsoo stands by her side, holding her hands and looking at Minseok and Jongdae.

‘They did good’, Kyungsoo nods, smiling as he rests his head on Sarah Jane’s shoulders.

* * *

_Three Months Later._

‘Baekhyun! Baekhyun! Get up! You’re going to be late for school!’, Minseok knocks on his door, rushing back down the stairs of their newly purchased home, going back to the kitchen and finishing up breakfast, accidentally spilling some milk on the table.

‘Angel, stop making a mess’, Jongdae whines as he folds the newspaper and looks down on the table to see spilt milk and flour everywhere. He sees Minseok stacking up pancakes on top of each other, drowning it in maple syrup before setting it down on the table, ‘You’re going to make him fat if you keep feeding him that’

‘He’s the Captain of his school’s football team’, Minseok argues with the demon, ‘He needs as much as energy before practice’

‘He’s going to be fine without the pancakes’, Jongdae says, about to argue when Baekhyun runs in, his school tie not tied yet and just hanging on his shoulders as he tries to put on his shoes whilst standing up, his hair messy and all over the place.

‘I’m going to be late!’, Baekhyun calls out, pacing around the kitchen, trying to find his notebook.

‘Sit down and quickly eat’, Minseok forces him down on the table, Jongdae laughing when he watches the angel tie Baekhyun’s tie whilst the kid gulps down the pancakes in only a few bites, devouring it in one swift go before kneeling and tying his shoes.

They hear a knock on the door and Jongdae rolls his eyes as he gets up, going to the front of the house and opening the door to find the tall kid with the big ears waving at him with a goofy grin on his face.

‘Hello Mr Kim!’, Chanyeol greets him, ‘Is Baekhyun ready?’

‘I can’t believe Sarah transferred you to his school’, Jongdae mutters to himself, rolling his eyes as he widens the door to let Chanyeol in, glaring at the boy as he hugs Baekhyun, the pair of them walking side by side.

‘Don’t kill him’, Minseok whispers to Jongdae, chuckling when he continues to glare at Chanyeol even after they waved goodbye, walking down the end of the street, ‘Sarah Jane’s going to kill us if you hurt her son’

‘An undercover angel in Satan’s cult’, Jongdae whispers to himself after finding out that the human who ruined everything was an angel sent by the Almighty herself to change the Divine Plan, ‘The Almighty is weird’

‘Well, who’d’ve thought the angel would fall in love with the child’, Minseok pats his back, ‘Looks like Chanyeol’s also lucky to have an angel’

‘Yeah right. Angel as a mother and Death as his stepdad?’, Jongdae starts to laugh, closing the door, the pair heading back inside the house, ‘What a life indeed’

‘Don’t judge them’, Minseok rolls his eyes, ‘Baekhyun has an angel and a demon as his parents. He’s not far off’

‘Yeah, well, at least we’re established in Earth. Kyungsoo doesn’t even have a second name or a birth certificate to pass as human yet’

‘Nor do I’, Minseok shrugs, cleaning the kitchen island as he brings all the dirty dishes in the sink. Jongdae realises this and he immediately walks over to Minseok, leaning on the counter whilst he watches Minseok wash the dishes. He forgot that the angel never conformed to human rules, not giving himself any files or surname to blend in. But he’ll need a reason to, now that he has a human son to take care of.

‘You know, Kim might suit you’, Jongdae points out, folding his arm and waiting for Minseok to respond.

‘You mean the surname you gave yourself?’, Minseok snorts, ‘I don’t think so’

‘Kim Minseok and Kim Jongdae. I think that rolls off the tongue’, Jongdae furthers his points, smirking when he sees Minseok looking at him, ‘What? You don’t like the idea of sharing the same name as me?’

‘What does Kim even mean?’

‘Gold’, Jongdae replies, ‘I’m a Great Golden Bell and you’ll be a Golden Jade Stone’

‘You remembered?’, Minseok asks to which Jongdae just smiles at him. The angel never got used to the way the demon would flirt with him nonchalantly, always rolling his eyes and walking away from him, but this time he welcomed it, smiling back whilst he continued washing the dishes.

‘So, what do you say?’, Jongdae asks again, ‘Do you want to be a Kim?’

Minseok wipes his hands, turning to face Jongdae as he rests his hand on his cheeks, lightly kissing him. A kiss shared between them, their first kiss and probably one of many when Minseok feels Jongdae’s arms snake around him, his tattoos back and painted brighter than ever, leaning in and kissing him again. They part for a moment, Minseok meeting his eyes to find it in a shade of golden brown rather than glowing red.

‘Of course’


End file.
